Buffalo — The day after the most deadly racist massacre in American history, New York law enforcement officials landed at the accused gunner’s house and Governor Kathy Hokul gave a hate speech. Having promised action, I looked up disturbing hints for his actions. He said it would spread “like a virus.”
Suspect Peyton S. Gendron, 18, shot dead 13 people at a tops supermarket in eastern Buffalo on Saturday afternoon, killing 10 people, officials said. Almost all of the victims were black — shoppers, grocery workers, and security guards were only tragic events.
However, police said Mr Gendron carefully selected the target, selected an area known for its high black population, and visited the area the day before the attack, which authorities called “reconnaissance.”
And almost a year before the shootings, his words had already sounded alarms elsewhere.
Police said on Sunday that after Mr. Gendron made a threatening statement, he was picked up by state police at high school last June and taken to a hospital for a mental health assessment.
In response to a class project question about post-graduation planning, Mr Gendron said he was involved in murder-suicide, a law enforcement officer familiar with the case said.
But Mr Gendron said the statement was a joke, officials said. And after an evaluation that lasted about a day and a half, he was released, said Buffalo Police Commissioner Joseph Gramagria.
The account was confirmed by FBI Special Agent Stephen Belongia. He said Gendron was “not on the radar” of the federal authorities.
Gendron, who said police wore body armor and camouflage during his feast, posted a long screed full of racist texts and white supremacist known as an alternative theory. It is believed that he expressed praise to his ideology and other racist shooters. Mass shooting.
“This individual came here with the explicit purpose of killing as many blacks as possible,” said Mayor Byron Brown, Democratic Mayor of Buffalo’s first black mayor.
The White House said President Biden and First Lady Jill Biden visited Buffalo on Tuesday to “grieve the community that lost 10 lives in a meaningless and horrific shooting.” Police identified the victim on Sunday night. This is a cross-section of a working-class neighborhood where the Tops Store served as both an important source of groceries and a community hub.
For the dead, retired Buffalo police officer Aaron Salter Jr., 55, and his 86-year-old grandmother Ruth Whit, who worked as security guards in a grocery store and were welcomed as heroes confronting gunmen. The field was included. 8. He died in some errands. For example, Celestine Chainy (65), who wanted to get strawberries to make shortcake, and Roberta Druley (32), who had just eaten a midnight snack. Hayward Patterson, 67, was killed by helping him put groceries in another shopper’s car.
Four people were shot dead in the store’s parking lot, and nine others, including Mr. Salter, were shot dead, according to Erie County executive Mark Poloncals.
Blood was still polluting the asphalt in the parking lot on Sunday as various state, federal, and local officials were working on the scene. The blocks surrounding the site were full of elected officials and local mourners.
“Many of my friends, friends and police were there,” said Karen Martin, 64, who came to pay homage to the store on Sunday morning. “I don’t believe he did it.”
The feeling of sadness was also mixed with anger. Local black religious leaders have begged white brothers in other parts of the state and country to play their role in combating racism and white supremacy.
“Don’t tell me you’re a friend of our community and you’re not dealing with this in your pulpit today,” said Darius Priden, Bishop of the True Bethel Baptist Church in Buffalo. Admit that there are still people who hate holy desks and blacks, you can go to hell with archers for everything I care about. After all, if you remain silent now, you are not my friend. “
The attack on Saturday was the most deadly mass shooting in the United States this year, with other racist genocide in recent years, including the killing of nine black parishioners in a church in Charleston, South Carolina in 2015. Joined the roster. Eleven people were killed in an anti-Semitic rampage at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh in 2018. And in the 2019 El Paso attack on Wal-Mart, the accused man expressed hatred for Latino Americans and killed more than 20 people.
Extremists motivated by racial and ethnic hatred are considered the most dangerous threat of domestic terrorists. The FBI has taken the threat to the highest level after a series of horrific shootings targeting people of color and Jews in 2019. In short, investigators need to prioritize the development of sensitive informants and take other steps to combat violence.
Law enforcement officials said Mr Gendron, who was acquitted after being charged with first-class murder on Saturday night, traveled half the state to commit his crime. Documents that he believed to have created and posted online in the days leading up to the attack stated that Buffalo was the closest city to his southern home. — — A predominantly white area running along the southern border with New York’s Pennsylvania — It had a major black population.
On Sunday morning, FBI agents and other law enforcement members were at Gendron’s home in Conklin, NY, a rolling hill suburban town about 200 miles south of Broome County, about 200 miles from Buffalo. Gathered before.
Neighbors remember seeing Gendron playing basketball on the driveway with his brother. Some people attended a high school graduation party in the front yard last year.
However, others said there were signs of rebellion and strange behavior, including the moment after face-to-face school education resumed. He wore full hazmat suits in his class.
“He wore the whole suit. Boots, gloves, everything,” said Nathan Twitchel, 19, a former classmate at Susquehanna Valley High School.
Colton Gardner, 18, of Conklin, who attended middle and high school with Gendron, described him as “definitely a little exile.”
“I knew he was interested in guns, but it wasn’t uncommon for us to grow up,” Gardner said.
The interest was clearly enthusiastic enough to encourage purchases. Robert Donald, owner of vintage firearms in Endicott, New York, said on Sunday that he had sold Bushmaster’s assault weapons to Mr. Gendron.
“I can’t believe it. I don’t understand why 18-year-olds do this,” said 75-year-old Donald, who mainly sells collectible firearms. “I know I didn’t do anything wrong, but I feel terrible about it.”
Gendron’s writings were racist and anti-immigrant, arguing that white Americans were at risk of being replaced by immigrants and people of color.
On the far right, the theory that could blame the Jews for instigating a “great shift” evolved into violence in several other shootings and the 2017 right-wing rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. That’s why I’m associated with the shooter.
At a press conference at noon on Sunday, police secretary Gramagria said state and federal officials had sought a warrant for information about Gendron’s digital activities. They sought access to his computer and phone, and a search for his home and car. He added that authorities believe Mr Gendron acted alone.
Sheriff John Garcia of Erie County refused to say the suspect’s name, referred to him by prisoner’s ID number, and called his actions “evil empowerment.”
Gendron surrendered after placing his weapon on his chin, said Gramagria, who praised the officer for his swift response to the shooting. Still, some community members wondered if Gendron, officials said there were two other guns in the car heading for the slaughter, could not have been shot by police during the attack.
But on Sunday, Mr. Gramagria countered the proposal, saying his officers always worked to escalate the violent situation. “We’re not going to shoot anyone,” he said, saying Mr Gendron was pointing his gun at himself rather than the police.
Police said Gendron livestreamed his attack and captured images of the turmoil he caused with a camera mounted on his helmet. The video was broadcast on Twitch, a livestreaming site owned by Amazon that is popular with gamers, but the site took the channel offline shortly after the attack began. Still, broadcast images can still be found online. The video excerpts taken were watched over 3 million times on a site called Streamable before being deleted.
Buffalo footage is available online. One copy has more than 2 million views. Someone linked on Facebook 10 hours ago. Currently, there are 500 comments, 46,000 shares and it’s still online. The original Twitch stream had 22 viewers. The video never disappears.
— Drewharwell (@drewharwell) May 15, 2022
When he appeared in the true Bethel Church in the morning, Buffalo-born Democrat Hokur was angry with the violence that rocked his hometown and called the shooter a “coward.” But she also expressed her deep dissatisfaction with “a social media platform that allows this hatred to ferment and spread like a virus.”
When faced with plans to confront such hate speech online without violating the First Amendment’s rights, Hokur said, “hate speech is unprotected,” and soon with social media companies. He said he would hold a meeting.
“I guarantee their phone will ring when I return to Albany,” she said.
Along with other Buffalo residents, Mr. Hokur emphasized that he hopes the city will be known as a turning point in the country’s series of gun tragedy.
“I want them to talk about Buffalo,” she said, “as the last place this has ever happened.”
Christine Chung, Andy Newman, Ashley Sausole, Ali Watkins, Emma Bubora, Chelsea Rose Marsius, Troy Crosson, Mihil Zaveli, Dan Higgins, Chris Cameron, Keren Browning, Nicholas Confessole, Grace Ashford When Adam Goldman Report that contributed.