A gunman inspired by hatred and wearing tactical gear killed 10 people and wounded three others in a Buffalo, New York, supermarket on Saturday afternoon, officials said.
Officials said he broadcast the attack on social media platforms.
Buffalo Police Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia said the suspect, an 18-year-old white man wearing tactical gear, was taken into custody after shooting 13 people at a Top Friendly Market supermarket.
Officials did not say what platform he was using to stream the shooting, but a Twitch spokesperson said the platform has investigated and confirmed “less than two minutes after the violence began.” “The clause was dropped.
“It was pure evil,” Erie County Sheriff John Garcia said at a news conference. “Straightly racially motivated, hate crimes from someone outside our community – outside the city of good neighbors, as the mayor put it – are coming into our community and trying to do evil on us.”
The victims included four employees of the store, including a security guard. Gramaglia said eleven of the victims of the shootings are black, two are white.
In a written statement Saturday evening, Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said the Justice Department is “investigating this case as a hate crime and an act of racially motivated violent extremism.”
“The Department of Justice is committed to conducting a thorough and speedy investigation of this shooting and demanding justice for these innocent victims,” Garland said.
The Erie County District Attorney’s office said the suspect, Peyton S. of Conklin, New York. Gendron was tried on Saturday evening in Buffalo City Court on a count of murder.
According to the office, he was remanded without bail and a felony trial was scheduled for Thursday morning.
Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown said the suspect was “hours away and went to Buffalo” to commit the crime.
“This is the worst nightmare any community can face,” he said.
Brown said he had helped bring Topps Friendly Market on Jefferson Avenue to the black community and that many people he knew, as well as his own family, patronized the store.
A heavily armed man wearing tactical gear went to the store on Jefferson Avenue at around 2:30 pm and opened fire in the parking lot. Gramaglia said he fatally shot three people and wounded one before entering the store.
A security guard opened fire, but since the suspect had ballistic protection, the round did not penetrate. He said the suspect retaliated and shot the guard.
The guard was a beloved retired Buffalo police officer, Gramaglia said.
Thereafter, the suspect continued shooting at the shop, he said. The commissioner said Buffalo officers retaliated by placing the suspect in the store’s vestibule and the man responded with a gun around his neck.
The officers asked him to surrender, Gramaglia said. He said he removed his tactical gear before the officers took him into custody.
According to law enforcement sources, at least two rifles have been recovered from the spot. At the press conference, officials said the shooter used a semi-automatic rifle.
Law enforcement sources said the suspect appears to have the N-word written or engraved on one of the weapons.
ECMC Hospital in Buffalo said it is treating three victims and all have been stabilized.
Additional information about the victims has not been released.
A senior law officer said the suspect’s parents were upset and cooperating with the authorities. He said his son had recently and legally purchased the weapons used in the shootout, the law enforcement officer said.
The official said investigators are probing where and how they were procured – a semi-automatic rifle, a hunting rifle and a shotgun.
A spokesperson for Twitch, the live-streaming service that was suspected to have been used during the shooting, said the platform has a “zero-tolerance policy against violence of any kind and is swift to respond to all incidents.” works with.”
“The user has been suspended from our service indefinitely, and we are taking all appropriate action, including monitoring any accounts that re-broadcast this content,” the spokesperson said.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul said in an evening press conference that there should be some moral and perhaps legal responsibility for incidents related to attacks on social media, which involve “radicalizing” mass shooters. He said hosting the live stream was “absolutely shocking”.
The continuing gun violence in the United States, she said, must stop. “Yes, I am angry,” said Hochul.
Regarding a possible motive, Erie County District Attorney John J. “There has been some evidence … indicating some racial animosity,” Flynn said.
“We are praying for the victims of this senseless act of violence that has occurred in our community,” the NAACP of Buffalo said in a statement.
Brian Levine, director of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism said it in a tweet That Saturday’s shooting appeared to be the worst hate-based mass shooting in the nation since the 2019 El Paso mass shooting, when 23 people were killed and several injured at a Walmart.
White House Press Secretary Karin Jean-Pierre said President Joe Biden was briefed about the shooting by his Homeland Security adviser.
“The President and First Lady are praying for those lost and for their loved ones,” he said in a statement.
Tops Friendly Markets spokeswoman Kathleen A. “We are shocked and deeply saddened by this senseless act of violence and our condolences and prayers are with the victims and their families,” Sauter said in a statement.
“Our top priority is the health and well-being of our associates and customers,” she said. “We appreciate the prompt response of local law enforcement and are providing all available resources to assist authorities in the ongoing investigation.”
The mayor, Brown, urged the Buffalo community and the nation not to allow the attack to inspire further division.
“Many of us know people who are victims of this gruesome crime. That’s why it’s painful,” he said.
He said that Buffalo’s motto is “City of Good Neighbors”.
“We cannot let an evil person divide this community and an evil person cannot divide our country,” Brown said.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
