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EXPLORE MORE A “heavily armed ” white teenager clad in military-style tactical gear slaughtered ten people Saturday in a “racially motivated” mass shooting he live-streamed at a Buffalo
supermarket, authorities said. The shooter — identified by law enforcement as 18-year-old Payton Gendron — drove from “hours away” in Conklin, New York, to a Tops Friendly Market on
Jefferson Avenue, in a predominantly black neighborhood, officials said. Eleven of the victims were black and two were white. “We are investigating this incident as both a hate crime and a
case of racially-motivated violent extremism,” said Stephen Belongia, the special agent in charge of the FBI’s Buffalo field office said during a press conference. Erie County Sheriff John
Garcia gave a more blunt assessment. “This was pure evil. It was a straight-up racially motivated hate crime,” he said. The shooter, who sources said had the N-word scrawled in white paint
on one of his weapons, arrived at the market at around 2:30 p.m. He “was very heavily armed. He had tactical gear on. He had a tactical helmet on,” Buffalo Police Commissioner Joseph
Gramaglia said. He also had a camera to livestream the shooting, Gramaglia said. He was armed with a semiautomatic rifle, a hunting rifle and a shotgun which were all purchased legally, NBC
News reported, citing a senior law enforcement official. The gunman opened fire in the parking lot, killing three people and injuring a fourth, he said. He then went inside the store, where
he encountered longtime “beloved” security guard and former Buffalo cop Aaron Salter, Jr., who tried to stop him, Gramaglia said. The guard’s bullet couldn’t pierce the attacker’s armor, he
said. MORE COVERAGE ON THE BUFFALO SUPERMARKET SHOOTING The shooter opened fire on Salter, killing him, Gramaglia said, before allegedly working his way through the rest of the store.
Buffalo cops confronted the shooter, who at one point put his gun to his own neck before authorities were able to talk him into surrendering, officials said. The gunman was arraigned on
Saturday night, surrounded by police when he appeared in court masked and wearing a white paper jail gown. He was slapped with first-degree murder charges and his court-appointed lawyer
entered a not guilty plea, local media reported. Gendron was reportedly placed on suicide watch, and is due back in court Thursday. His “distraught” parents were cooperating with
authorities, NBC reported. “The shooter was not from this community. The shooter traveled hours to this community to perpetuate this crime on the people of Buffalo,” Buffalo Mayor Byron
Brown said. The bloodshed occurred in the middle of a Saturday afternoon when many people were doing their grocery shopping. The store’s operation manager told the Buffalo News she thought
she heard 70 shots. She saw the shooter and said, “He looked like he was in the Army.” Two people who saw the gunman leaving the store described him as wearing camouflage attire with a black
helmet. “He was standing there with the gun to his chin. We were like what the heck is going on? Why does this kid have a gun to his face?” said witness Braedyn Kephart. Kephart said the
man dropped to his knees, ripped off his helmet and let go of his gun and then was tackled by police. One regular shopper at the market told a local television station that he knew several
of those killed. “I lost three people today that I know and talk to five, six times a week. One, a friend of over 30 years, another a friend of 20 years. This is insane,” the man said. The
supermarket chain tweeted a statement saying it was “shocked and saddened by this senseless act of violence.” It’s not the first time Gendron has come to the attention of law enforcement,
according to The Buffalo News, which reported the teen had allegedly threatened his fellow high school students in June 2021. A school official reported Gendron “had made statements
indicating that he wanted to do a shooting, either at a graduation ceremony, or sometime after,” a source told the news outlet. State Police investigated, and Gendron was referred for
counseling and a mental health evaluation, The Buffalo News said. Gov. Kathy Hochul called the suspect a “white supremacist” at a Saturday evening briefing in Buffalo before vowing to take
additional steps to crack down on illegal weapons while increasing social media monitoring by law enforcement, hours after suggesting to the Post that she did not foresee more anti-crime
legislative action this year. “Yeah, I’m angry. I’ve seen violence from guns on the Brooklyn subway. Now, in the streets of Buffalo, it has to stop. It has to stop … We had already planned
to be announcing a comprehensive gun package to address further loopholes that exist in our laws. We’re doing everything we can to ensure that our laws are tight,” Hochul said at the Buffalo
press conference. The New York State Hate Crime Task Force would also investigate the incident, she added. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said President Biden had been
briefed on the shooting. “He will continue to receive updates throughout the evening and tomorrow as further information develops. The president and the first lady are praying for those who
have been lost and for their loved ones,” she said. _Additional reporting by Zach Williams_