2022 Buffalo shooting
On May 14, 2022, a mass shooting happened at a Tops Friendly Markets store in the East Side district of Buffalo, New York, United States. Ten African-Americans were killed, and three others were injured.
The shooter live-streamed a portion of the attack on Twitch, but the service shut it down in less than two minutes. Payton S. Gendron, 18, was brought into the jail and charged with first-degree murder. On May 19, 2022, he formally filed a “not guilty” plea.
Gendron is said to have prepared a manifesto in which he describes himself as an ethnic-nationalist who supports white supremacy and is motivated to use violence in politics.
In the framework of a “white genocide,” he expressed support for the far-right “Great Replacement” conspiracy theory. The attack was described as domestic terrorism, and the crime is being investigated as racially motivated.
As a result of the attack, Governor Kathy Hochul promised policy improvements in the state, while condemning the shooter and expressing condolences to the victims’ families.
Shooting
The shooter arrived at the Tops grocery on Jefferson Avenue, in a primarily Black section of Buffalo, New York, around 2:30 p.m. EDT (UTC 04:00).
He was dressed in body armor and a military-grade helmet, and he was armed with a customized Bushmaster XM-15 weapon and a head-mounted camera, which he used to webcast the attack on Twitch. He carried a Savage Arms Axis XP hunting rifle and a Mossberg 500 shotgun in his vehicle.
On his live stream, he was heard saying “just got to go for it” as he approached the area. Buffalo police received a call at 2:31 p.m. reporting shots fired at the shop. A minute later, the first responding officers and firefighters arrived and discovered bodies outside the building. The time was 2:34 p.m.
The shooter shot four people in the parking lot, killing three. He then entered the store, shooting eight more people and killing six. According to a law enforcement source, the shooter yelled racial slurs during the incident.
Many staff and customers sought refuge in the store’s break room, barricading the door with a hefty desk. Other customers were hidden in the milk cooler by employees, who claimed the shooter shot through the coolers but the bullets were blocked by the milk cartons.
An armed security guard, former Buffalo Police Department officer Aaron Salter Jr., fired a shot at him at one point. Salter’s bullet failed to stop the shooter due to the shooter’s body armor.
The shooter returned fire, killing Salter on the spot.
The shooter leveled his gun at a white individual behind a checkout counter at another time, but apologized and did not fire.
By 2:36 p.m., the shooter had gone to the front of the building, where patrol officers were able to talk him into dropping his gun after he reportedly aimed it at his neck. After his arrest, the suspect made disturbing statements regarding his motive and state of mind.
Victims
Thirteen persons were shot, ten of whom died, eleven of whom were Black and two of whom were white. Aaron Salter Jr., 55, a former Buffalo Police lieutenant who was working as a security guard when he confronted the shooter, was one of them.
Celestine Chaney, 65; Roberta A. Drury, 32; Andre Mackniel, 53; Katherine Massey, 72; Margus D. Morrison, 52; Heyward Patterson, 67; Geraldine Talley, 62; Ruth Whitfield, 86; and Pearl Young, 77 were among those killed.
Employees of the store were four of the casualties, including Salter, who died; the other three survived. The eleven people that perished were all black. As of May 23, one of the injured is still in a stable condition at the hospital.
Investigation
Sheriff John Garcia of Erie County described the shooting as a “straight out racially motivated hate crime perpetrated by someone from outside our community.”
The FBI’s local office chief, Stephen Belongia, informed reporters that the shooting is being investigated as a hate crime and an act of racially motivated violent extremism.
The gunman was apprehended and taken to Buffalo Police Headquarters, where he was reported to be in custody at 2:36 p.m.
The shooter’s parents have been interviewed by federal officials and have cooperated with investigators.
They discovered information that if he escaped the grocery, he had plans to continue his attack, according to the Buffalo police commissioner. The district attorney for the county said he had proof that Gendron was motivated by racial hate.
According to law enforcement sources who spoke to The Buffalo News, police were looking into Gendron’s alleged internet interaction with a number of persons, including a retired federal agent, and whether these people had thirty minutes’ notice of the attack but did not report it.
A separate investigation in connection to the shooting began on May 15, into the conduct of a 911 operator. An assistant manager at the Tops store reportedly called 911 and whispered to avoid detection by the shooter.
The employee was then reportedly shouted at by the dispatcher who wondered why the woman was whispering and then allegedly hung up on the employee. The Office of the Erie County Executive announced the dispatcher was placed on administrative leave and was fired after a disciplinary hearing
Investigation
Sheriff John Garcia of Erie County described the shooting as a “straight out racially motivated hate crime perpetrated by someone from outside our community.”
The FBI’s local office chief, Stephen Belongia, informed reporters that the shooting is being investigated as a hate crime and an act of racially motivated violent extremism.
The gunman was apprehended and taken to Buffalo Police Headquarters, where he was reported to be in custody at 2:36 p.m. The shooter’s parents have been interviewed by federal officials and have cooperated with investigators.
They discovered information that if he escaped the grocery, he had plans to continue his attack, according to the Buffalo police commissioner. The district attorney for the county said he had proof that Gendron was motivated by racial hate.
According to law enforcement sources who spoke to The Buffalo News, police were looking into Gendron’s alleged internet interaction with a number of persons, including a retired federal agent, and whether these people had thirty minutes’ notice of the attack but did not report it.
On May 15, a separate inquiry into the actions of a 911 operator was launched in relation with the incident. According to reports, an assistant manager at the Tops store dialed 911 while whispering to avoid being seen by the shooter.
The dispatcher allegedly yelled at the employee, asking why the woman was whispering, and then allegedly hung up on the employee. The dispatcher was placed on administrative leave and fired after a disciplinary hearing, according to the Erie County Executive’s office.
International
The incident was condemned by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Buffalo is located near Fort Erie, Ontario, on the Canadian border. The mayor of Niagara Falls, Ontario, Jim Diodati, called Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown to show his support for Buffalo. In remembrance of the victims, flags in Niagara Falls were lowered to half-mast.
