BUFFALO, N.Y. (1010 WINS) -- Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown, Gov. Kathy Hochul and law enforcement officials held a press conference on Sunday that gave insight into the white supremacist shooting at a Buffalo supermarket that on Saturday left 10 people dead and three injured.
Here’s what officials have told us so far about the attack:
THE SHOOTING
Shooter Payton Gendron is a white supremacist and targeted Tops Friendly Market supermarket, which serves a predominantly Black neighborhood.
Brown said the shooting was carried out “with the express purpose of taking as many Black lives as he possibly could.”
Hochul wrote on Twitter that “Yesterday’s attack was not a random act of violence. Black New Yorkers were attacked because of the color of their skin.”
The shooter traveled from Southern New York to Buffalo on Friday to stake out the supermarket. Police don’t think he had traveled to Buffalo before Friday.
Around 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, the man shot 13 people, killing 10 and injuring three others who are in stable condition.
Police responded almost immediately.
When confronted by police, the shooter placed the barrel of his rifle under his chin, but did not kill himself. Police arrested him, and he was arraigned on murder charges later that day.
More charges will likely come as the investigation moves forward.
THE VICTIMS
Ten people are dead and three are wounded. Eleven of the 13 victims are Black. Four of the victims were store employees, and the rest were shoppers.
The names of only three victims have been released so far.
Aaron Salter, a retired Buffalo police officer, worked as a security guard for the store. He fired at the shooter, and may have hit him, according to police, but the shooter was wearing body armor that might have blunted the impact of the shot.
Speakers at Sunday’s press conference hailed him as a hero.
Ruth Whitfield, 86, was on her way home after visiting her husband in a nursing home and stopped by Tops to get something to eat when she was killed by the shooter.
Pearly Young, 77, was shopping at the store when she was killed. She ran a food pantry and was an avid singer and dancer, according to her family.
Officials said family members of all the victims have been notified and the names of more victims will be released later Sunday.
THE SHOOTER
The shooter is 18-year-old Payton Gendron of Southern New York who described himself as a fascist, a white supremacist and an anti-Semite in his manifesto. Police believe he acted alone.
1010 WINS will not publish the original text from his manifesto in order to undermine his stated goal of inciting further violence.
He released a 180-page manifesto that explains his ideology, provides auto-biographical details and includes long, racist screeds against Black people, immigrants and Jewish people.
In his manifesto, he says he was radicalized online and idolizes the Christchurch shooter. Like the Christchurch shooter, he live streamed the shooting.
He posted the manifesto on the forum site 4chan before the shooting. It includes unverified screenshots from the popular messaging and forum app Discord, in which the Gendron goes into detail about his plans to carry out the shooting well in advance of May 14.
Discord and the live streaming platform Twitch, where the shooting was broadcast, are both cooperating with the investigation.
Gendron is on suicide watch because he held his gun to his head before surrendering.
State police brought him in for questioning and a psychiatric evaluation in June 2021 after he made generalized threats online, according to officials.
He was released, and authorities said neither the FBI nor state police were monitoring him or his social media presence.
Buffalo Police Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia laid the blame at the feet of social media companies, which he said failed to flag police after the psychiatric evaluation.
“There was nothing picked up on the state police intelligence, nothing that was picked up on the FBI intelligence. Nobody called in any complaints,” said Gramaglia. “Social media companies have to be able to monitor keywords that might pick up on something that can then notify us, but anybody that might have been monitoring an individual’s social media also has a responsibility to notify law enforcement. Any time any of these law enforcement agencies are notified that there might be something, we investigate it. And we can take it as far as we can take it.”
THE INVESTIGATION
Gramaglia said the investigation will be lengthy and did not announce a date by which he anticipates it will be concluded.
Local and federal FBI agents, state police, Buffalo Police and other federal agents from organizations like the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are leading a sweeping investigation into the shooting.
Attorney General Letitia James’ office is collaborating with the governor’s hate crimes task force to carry out a parallel investigation.
Law enforcement has obtained warrants for the shooter’s home, vehicle, social media records, computer, telephone and other electronic devices, some of which have already been executed.
Officials say they know where and how the three weapons the shooter owned were obtained, but have not yet made that information public.
The supermarket is still an active crime scene and investigators from many different law enforcement agencies are present.
Officials at the press conference were unequivocal in identifying this terror attack as a white supremacist hate crime, and said it is being investigated as such.
“The evidence that we have uncovered so far makes no mistake that this is an absolute racist hate crime. It will be prosecuted as a hate crime,” said Gramaglia. “This is someone who has hate in their heart, soul and mind.”
The FBI established a tip website where the public can submit information on the shooting.
THE RESPONSE
Mayor Brown, Gov. Hochul, Attorney General James and other elected officials went to a local church service Sunday morning where they met with grieving community members.
At the press conference, Hochul called for stricter gun regulation and demanded social media companies curtail hate speech and monitor extremist activity.
“I want them to sit in a room, look me in the eye and tell me, have you done everything humanly possible to make sure that you are monitoring this content the second it hits your platform?” said Hochul. “If you’re not, then I’m going to hold you responsible.”
Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network will cover the cost of all funeral expenses.
Uber and Lyft have agreed to provide free rides to locals who relied on that particular grocery store so they can access food while Tops is closed for the investigation.
Local officials are providing counselors for community members and a separate hotline has been established just for the family members of the victims.
Hochul closed her speech with a threat to others who share the shooter’s ideology.
“To anyone else who dare break the security that every citizen is entitled to, to make them feel victimized, you just picked a fight with 20 million New Yorkers,” she said. “We will continue to stand up, because an attack on one is an attack on all. And this was — no other way to describe it than white supremacy terrorism. It’s racism, it’s hatred and it stops right here in Buffalo. This is the last stop you’re going to have, because we are coming after you.”