Photo: Twitter / Youtube
He's a self-proclaimed white supremacist.
By Dan O'Reilly — Written on May 16, 2022
On Saturday, May 14th, 2022 the unthinkable happened at a Tops Supermarket in Buffalo New York. Locals were simply going about their business, buying food and other supermarket items when an alleged 18-year-old white supremacist terrorist entered the building.
Payton Gendron was reportedly armed with a legally purchased rifle and was wearing body armor and a camera mounted on a helmet when he opened fire on the unarmed people inside of the store.
But this first attack was reportedly not Gendron's only plan for the day.
Accused Buffalo shooter Payton Gendron allegedly planned a second attack in another location.
As if the first 13 victims weren’t enough, evidence suggests that the alleged shooter had intentions to go to another location after his 2:30 pm attack at the Tops supermarket.
Buffalo Police Chief Joseph Gramaglia said of the situation, “We have uncovered information that if he escaped the supermarket, he had plans to continue his attack. He had plans to continue driving down Jefferson Ave to shoot more Black people... possibly go to another store location.”
Thankfully, the alleged shooter was stopped before he could leave the store and continue the massacre at a secondary location.
The Buffalo shooting appears to have been racially motivated.
The alleged domestic terrorist’s 180-page long manifesto and his target location, a three-and-a-half-hour drive away, indicate that the attack was racially motivated.
Gendron reportedly wrote in his manifesto that he identified himself as a white supremacist and a fascist and that he was concerned that white people in America were being “replaced” by non-whites.
Of the victims of the attack, 11 of them were Black and two were white.
10 of the victims have died while three more were injured.
Payton Gendron allegedly previously threatened to shoot his school.
According to police, Gendron had been investigated for threats made against students at his school. In June of 2021, the 18-year-old reportedly made threatening comments, including the possibility of opening fire on students at a graduation ceremony.
In spite of the fact that police were aware of Gendron and investigated the matter, Gendron was written off as simply being “troubled.”
The AR-15 that was allegedly used in the shooting was legally purchased in New York, which means that the weapon was either, not confiscated from Gendron when he made his threats against his fellow students or he managed to buy the weapon despite his history of threats.
Gendron surrendered to the police and was arrested after the massacre.
The alleged shooter looked like he intended to take his own life when officers managed to talk him down. Gendron was then taken into custody and is now awaiting an investigation and trial.
The attack has left a community broken and marginalized groups across the United States shaken. It remains to be seen if 13 victims of this event will be enough to force any legislation to prevent unnecessary tragedies like this one from happening again.
Dan O'Reilly is a writer who covers news, politics, and social justice. Follow him on Twitter.