BUFALO, New York (AP) – On Saturday afternoon, a white gunman with military equipment attacked shoppers and workers at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York, killing 10 people and wounding three others. Most of the victims are black. Officials said they were investigating the shooting as a racially motivated hate crime.
See what we know so far:
WHAT HAPPENED?
An 18-year-old white man in military uniform and broadcasting live with a helmet camera opened fire on Tops Friendly Market on Saturday afternoon. This is a supermarket in a mostly black neighborhood of Buffalo, New York.
The gunman broadcast the shooting live in front of a small audience on Twitch for a few minutes before the platform interrupted its broadcast.
According to the police, the attacker started firing in the parking lot, after which he moved to the store. Security guard Aaron Salter fired several shots, but none penetrated the shooter’s armor. The gunman killed Salter and then walked down the aisles, shooting at shoppers.
When police confronted the shooter in the lobby of the store, he placed his rifle around his neck, but surrendered and dropped his pistol as arranged by officers.
WHO IS THE SUSPECTED CLIMBER?
Police have identified the shooter as Peyton Hendron of Conklin, New York. Conklin is a small town about 200 miles (320 kilometers) southeast of Buffalo, not far from the Pennsylvania border.
Officials said the Gendron rifle used in the attack was purchased legally, but the stores he used for ammunition were not allowed to be sold in New York.
After the shooting, Gedron appeared before a judge in a paper medical gown and was charged with murder.
A document circulated on the Internet ostensibly outlines Gedron’s racist, anti-immigrant and anti-Semitic beliefs. Among them was the desire to expel all non-European people from the United States. The document seems to be inspired by the gunman who killed 51 people in two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, in 2019.
A law enforcement official told the Associated Press on Sunday that Gedron had threatened to carry out a shooting last year at Susquehanna Valley High School around the time of graduation. At that time he was 17 years old and was sent for mental health treatment. The law enforcement official was not authorized to speak publicly about the investigation and did so on condition of anonymity.
WHO ARE THE VICTIMS?
Police did not release the names of most of the victims. They said 11 victims, including the wounded, were black and two white.
Among those killed was Aaron Salter, a retired Buffalo police officer who worked as a security guard at the store. Salter fired several shots at the attacker, hitting him at least once. Officials said he was a hero who saved lives by fleeing into danger. A local said he cared about the community and took care of the store.
Ruth Whitfield, 86, took groceries after visiting her husband in a nursing home, as she did every day. She was the mother of retired Buffalo Fire Commissioner Garnell Whitfield, who told The Buffalo News that she was “the mother of mothers” and “a blessing to us all.” Whitfield attributes her mother’s strength and devotion to her family to her strong religious faith.
Catherine Massie was a “beautiful soul” who was killed while shopping, said Sister Barbara Massi.
Among those injured was Zaire Goodman, the son of US Senator Tim Kennedy. The 20-year-old was shot in the neck but is recovering, Kennedy said.
WHAT DO THE AUTHORITIES SAY ABOUT THE MOTIVE?
At a news briefing on Saturday, Eri County Sheriff John Garcia called the shooting a hate crime.
“It was pure evil. “It was a racially motivated hate crime by someone outside our community, outside the City of Good Neighbors … who comes to our community and tries to do us that harm,” Garcia said.
The FBI is investigating the shooting as both a hate crime and racially motivated violent extremism.
Authorities declined to comment on the document, which allegedly shows the attackers racist, anti-immigrant and anti-Semitic beliefs.
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