BUFFALO, N.Y. (1010 WINS) — A 37-year-old Washington man was arrested on Thursday for threatening to shoot up the Tops supermarket in Buffalo where a white supremacist gunman murdered 10 people and injured three more on May 14.
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Joey David George of Lynwood, Washington made calls on Tuesday and Wednesday in which he threatened to shoot Black people and ranted about a coming race war, according to prosecutors.
Over the last year, George allegedly also made calls to businesses in California, Maryland, Connecticut and Washington in which he threatened to shoot Black and Hispanic people.
Eleven of the Buffalo shooting victims were Black, and two were white. A manifesto the shooter published online made clear he targeted the supermarket because it was in a predominantly Black neighborhood.
“The Buffalo community is trying to heal from the horrific shooting at a Tops grocery store. I cannot imagine the type of fear such hate-fueled threats engendered in those just trying to go about their daily lives,” said U.S. Attorney Nick Brown. “We cannot tolerate this kind of hate in our community and will not sit by while people seek to terrorize others across our country.”
Prosecutors charged George in a Seattle federal court for making interstate threats.
He made his first court appearance on Friday and is currently being detained at the SeaTac Federal Detention Center, in Washington.
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