The white gunman accused of a racist rampage at a Buffalo supermarket planned to commit the murder, the police commissioner said on Monday, as officers viewed the massacre of black people as a possible hate crime or an act of domestic terrorism. examined.
Buffalo Police Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia told Nation World News that the gunman, who crossed the state to target Topps Friendly Market, where he killed 10 people, had also spoken of shooting another store.
“He was about to get in his car and continue to drive down Jefferson Avenue and keep doing the same thing,” the commissioner said.
Their description was similar to a racist 180-page document allegedly written by Peyton Gendron, which stated that the attack was intended to terrorize all non-white, non-Christian people and make them leave the country. was to be received. Federal officials were still working to confirm the document’s authenticity.
Saturday’s bloodbath in Buffalo was the deadliest of the weekend’s shootings, which also involved a California church and a Texas flea market.
Gendron, 18, drove 200 miles (320 kilometers) from his home in Conklin, New York, to Buffalo, police said.
Law enforcement officers revealed Sunday that New York State Police personnel were called to Gendron’s High School last June for a report that the then 17-year-old had made threatening statements.
The revelations raised questions as to whether his encounters with police and the mental health system were yet another opportunity to place a potential mass shooter under closer law enforcement scrutiny, seek his help, or ensure that he did not have access to guns. Is.
A law enforcement officer said on condition of anonymity that Gendron had threatened to shoot her around graduation at Susquehanna Valley High School in Conklin. Officials were not authorized to speak publicly about the investigation.
Gramaglia said Gendron had no further contact with law enforcement after the mental health assessment, which kept him in the hospital for a day and a half.
“Nobody called. Nobody complained,” said Gramaglia. The threat was “general” in nature, he said, and not related to the breed.
New York is one of several states that have enacted “red flag” laws in recent years to prevent mass shootings by identifying people who indicate they are a danger to themselves or others. can.
Those laws allow law enforcement officers, a person’s family, or in some cases medical professionals or school officials to petition a court to temporarily confiscate the person’s guns or to prevent the person from purchasing the weapon.
Federal law prohibits people from owning guns if a judge has determined they have a “mental defect” or have been forced into a mental institution. Evaluation alone will not inhibit.
It is unclear whether officials could have implemented a “red flag” regulation after the high school incident. Police and prosecutors would not provide details on the incident or say when Gendron purchased the weapons used in the deadly attack.
