On May 14th an 18-year-old white man carried out a racially-motivated shooting in Buffalo, NY. According to authorities, the man killed 10 people while injuring 3 others.
What could’ve been a lovely shopping day turned into a bloody scene when an 18-year-old attacked shoppers at a supermarket, Tops Supermarket on Jefferson Avenue in Buffalo, NY. It is alleged that on Saturday, May 14, 2022, at approximately 2:30 p.m., the suspect got out of his car and made his way through the parking lot into Tops Friendly Markets, and started shooting people with an assault rifle while live-streaming the mass shooting with a camera that was attached to his head.
AN ACT OF HATE
The suspect is accused of intentionally shooting four people outside of the grocery store. Three of the four victims died from their injuries. It is further alleged that the suspect entered the store and exchanged gunfire with an armed security guard. The security guard, who was a retired member of the Buffalo Police Department, died from his injuries. The shooter live-streamed the attack on the online streaming platform, Twitch. The company reportedly confirmed that the suspect used its platform to stream a live broadcast during the attack. However, Twitch said in a statement to CNN that the video was removed less than two minutes after the violence began.
THE ACCUSED
The suspect whose name has been reported as Payton Gendrone was quickly apprehended by responding police officers. He’s reportedly an author of a 180-page screed that details his white supremacy, and supremacist ideologies. This screed also features his plan to target a black community in New York. The screed is reportedly fixated on the notion of “replacement theory”, that black people will eventually replace white people because they have higher birth rates.
11 OF THE 13 VICTIMS WERE BLACK
A few days after the shooting, it has now been revealed by 2WGRZ that eleven of these victims were African American and two were white. Four of the identified victims are employees at Tops Supermarket. The victims’ ages range from 20 to 86. Erie County Sheriff, John Garcia, called the shooting a “straight-up racially motivated hate crime from somebody outside of our community.”
- Aaron Salter (55)
- Ruth Whitfield (86)
- Pearly Young (77)
- Katherine Massey (72)
- Deacon Heyward Patterson (67)
- Celestine Chaney (65)
- Roberta A. Drury (32)
- Margus D. Morrison (52)
- Adre Mackneil (53)
- Geraldine Talley (62)
- 20-year-old Zaire Goodman survived the shooting alongside a 50-year-old and 55-year-old.
SURVIVOR
Payton S. Gendron of Conklin, New York, has been charged with first-degree murder. According to the DA’s office, if convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole. The District attorney of Erie County, John Flynn said that the suspect pleaded not guilty, however, more charges are expected.
Visiting a city in mourning three days after the bloodshed, President Joe Biden said, “Evil did come to Buffalo.” Speaking not far from the grocery store, Biden took part in what has become a grim tradition of presidents visiting shaken communities after yet another mass shooting. “White supremacy is a poison … and it’s been allowed to fester and grow right in front of our eyes,” Biden said. “No more.”
We are sending prayers to the families involved.
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