The judge in the case of the El Paso massacre asks to be reassigned

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Walmart of El Paso, Texas, where the shooting occurred. (MARK RALSTON / AFP / Getty Images)

(CNN) - A Texas judge who was assigned to the mass shooting case at a Walmart in El Paso requested to be reassigned.

Judge Angie Juárez Barill was assigned the case of suspect Patrick Crusius. She requested that the case be reassigned or transferred to a different judge because she knew a relative of one of the deceased and is running for president of the eighth court of appeals court, the El Paso District Court said in a statement.

Since he will not run for re-election for his current position, his term will end in December 2020. "A case of this magnitude should begin with a judge who can reasonably be sure to carry it out," he said.

Crusius, 21, of Allen, Texas, was charged with capital murder in the August 3 massacre that left 22 people dead and more than two dozen injured. He is being held without bail.

While he has cooperated, he has not shown remorse for the shooting, police said.

Prior to the massacre, Crusius is believed to have written a racist and anti-immigrant document that presented a dark vision of the United States invaded by Hispanic immigrants.

The four-page document, titled "The Awkward Truth," was published on the 8chan online message board about 20 minutes before the shooting. It is full of white supremacist language and racist hatred aimed at immigrants and Latinos, and the author says he encourages immigrants to return to their home countries.

District attorney Jaime Esparza intends to seek the death penalty against him.

Shooting in El Paso