Post by Admin on May 15, 2022 11:58:19 GMT -4
Gunman Kills 10 in Buffalo Supermarket in ‘Racially Motivated Hate Crime’
Flowers and candles outside the scene of the mass shooting at a supermarket in Buffalo.
18-year-old white shooter Payton Gendron charged with first-degree murder after targeting Black shoppers in what the FBI called a “case of racially motivated violent extremism”
Updated: May 15, 11:23 a.m. ET
Ten people were killed and three more injured Saturday during a mass shooting at a Buffalo, New York supermarket that the FBI called a “case of racially motivated violent extremism.”
The gunman — identified by the Associated Press as 18-year-old Payton Gendron from Conklin, New York — was taken into custody by police after the shooting rampage at the Tops Friendly Market, where Gendron fired approximately 60 shots from a military-grade weapon.
Gendron was wearing military-style clothing, body armor and a helmet and was armed with a high-powered rifle. He had apparently traveled more than 200 miles to attack the supermarket, located in a predominantly Black neighborhood. Eleven out of the 13 people shot were Black, officials said, while the other two were white.
“The shooter was not from this community,” Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown said Saturday. “In fact, the shooter traveled hours from outside this community to perpetrate this crime on the people of Buffalo.”
The Associated Press reports that the supermarket was located in a predominately black neighborhood outside downtown Buffalo. Three of the victims were shot and killed in the parking lot outside the store, the Buffalo News reported, before Gendron entered Tops and opened fire. After exiting the supermarket, he encountered officers.
When police arrived, Gendron first threatened to shoot himself. “He was standing there in his military gear with his weapon to his chin, looking like he was going to blow his head off,” witness Braedyn Kaphart told the Buffalo News. “We weren’t sure what was happening. As he continued to do that, he dropped to his knees still appearing as if he might shoot himself.” Police ultimately handcuffed Gendron and was being questioned by FBI as of Saturday night.
Gendron allegedly published an 180-page manifesto online that is ugly and unhinged, even for a suspected mass murderer. In it, he talks about becoming radicalized after reading a 4chan forum in his “extreme boredom” during the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic. “I was not born racist nor grew up to be racist. I simply became racist after I learned the truth.”
The document touts earlier racist rampage killings, and pushes the conspiracy theory that white people are facing extinction and are being “replaced” by immigrants and people of color. It’s a baseless notion that’s been widely promoted on the far-right fringes, from the neo-Nazi marchers of Charlottesville to the Fox News broadcasts of Tucker Carlson.
Authorities were still working to confirm the authenticity of the document on Sunday, the Associated Press reports.
“This was pure evil,” Erie County Sheriff John Garcia said at a press conference. “It was straight-up racially motivated hate crime from somebody outside of our community … coming into our community and trying to inflict that evil upon us.”
The New York Times reports that Gendron pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder and was ordered held without bail in a brief arraignment Saturday night. “I understand my charges,” he said. The next court proceeding is set for Thursday, May 19.
“Our hearts are with the community and all who have been impacted by this terrible tragedy,” NAACP President Derrick Johnson said in a statement. “Hate and racism have no place in America. We are shattered, extremely angered and praying for the victims’ families and loved ones.”
“I am closely monitoring the shooting at a grocery store in Buffalo,” New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Buffalo native, tweeted Saturday. “We have offered assistance to local officials. If you are in Buffalo, please avoid the area and follow guidance from law enforcement and local officials.
Rest In Pace for who those who lost their lives 🌹🥀🌹
Flowers and candles outside the scene of the mass shooting at a supermarket in Buffalo.
18-year-old white shooter Payton Gendron charged with first-degree murder after targeting Black shoppers in what the FBI called a “case of racially motivated violent extremism”
Updated: May 15, 11:23 a.m. ET
Ten people were killed and three more injured Saturday during a mass shooting at a Buffalo, New York supermarket that the FBI called a “case of racially motivated violent extremism.”
The gunman — identified by the Associated Press as 18-year-old Payton Gendron from Conklin, New York — was taken into custody by police after the shooting rampage at the Tops Friendly Market, where Gendron fired approximately 60 shots from a military-grade weapon.
Gendron was wearing military-style clothing, body armor and a helmet and was armed with a high-powered rifle. He had apparently traveled more than 200 miles to attack the supermarket, located in a predominantly Black neighborhood. Eleven out of the 13 people shot were Black, officials said, while the other two were white.
“The shooter was not from this community,” Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown said Saturday. “In fact, the shooter traveled hours from outside this community to perpetrate this crime on the people of Buffalo.”
The Associated Press reports that the supermarket was located in a predominately black neighborhood outside downtown Buffalo. Three of the victims were shot and killed in the parking lot outside the store, the Buffalo News reported, before Gendron entered Tops and opened fire. After exiting the supermarket, he encountered officers.
When police arrived, Gendron first threatened to shoot himself. “He was standing there in his military gear with his weapon to his chin, looking like he was going to blow his head off,” witness Braedyn Kaphart told the Buffalo News. “We weren’t sure what was happening. As he continued to do that, he dropped to his knees still appearing as if he might shoot himself.” Police ultimately handcuffed Gendron and was being questioned by FBI as of Saturday night.
Gendron allegedly published an 180-page manifesto online that is ugly and unhinged, even for a suspected mass murderer. In it, he talks about becoming radicalized after reading a 4chan forum in his “extreme boredom” during the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic. “I was not born racist nor grew up to be racist. I simply became racist after I learned the truth.”
The document touts earlier racist rampage killings, and pushes the conspiracy theory that white people are facing extinction and are being “replaced” by immigrants and people of color. It’s a baseless notion that’s been widely promoted on the far-right fringes, from the neo-Nazi marchers of Charlottesville to the Fox News broadcasts of Tucker Carlson.
Authorities were still working to confirm the authenticity of the document on Sunday, the Associated Press reports.
“This was pure evil,” Erie County Sheriff John Garcia said at a press conference. “It was straight-up racially motivated hate crime from somebody outside of our community … coming into our community and trying to inflict that evil upon us.”
The New York Times reports that Gendron pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder and was ordered held without bail in a brief arraignment Saturday night. “I understand my charges,” he said. The next court proceeding is set for Thursday, May 19.
“Our hearts are with the community and all who have been impacted by this terrible tragedy,” NAACP President Derrick Johnson said in a statement. “Hate and racism have no place in America. We are shattered, extremely angered and praying for the victims’ families and loved ones.”
“I am closely monitoring the shooting at a grocery store in Buffalo,” New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Buffalo native, tweeted Saturday. “We have offered assistance to local officials. If you are in Buffalo, please avoid the area and follow guidance from law enforcement and local officials.
Rest In Pace for who those who lost their lives 🌹🥀🌹