US authorities said a “heavily armed” teenager in military attire killed 10 people Saturday in a “racist-motivated” shooting at a Buffalo supermarket, US authorities said and broadcast the incident live.
The shooter, identified by law enforcement as 18-year-old Payton Gendron, was driving from an “hour drive” in Conklin, New York, to Top Friendly Market on Jefferson Avenue in New York’s Buffalo area, officials said. black citizens.
“We are investigating this incident as a racially motivated hate crime and a case of racially motivated violent extremism,” Steven Bilongia, special agent in charge of the FBI Field Office in Buffalo, said during a press conference.
Erie County Sheriff John Garcia was more forthcoming: “It was pure evil. It was a direct racial hate crime.”
For his part, Buffalo Police Commissioner Joseph Grammaglia said the shooter, who wrote several names in white on his weapons, including the name of Anders Breivik, who was responsible for the 2011 Norwegian massacre, arrived at the market around 2:30 pm local time. time, and he was well armed, he had tactical equipment and a helmet.
Grammaglia noted that the perpetrator also had a camera to broadcast the shooting live. NBC News, citing a senior law enforcement official, said he was armed with a legally purchased semi-automatic rifle and a hunting rifle. He added that the militant opened fire in the parking lot, killing 3 people and injuring a fourth.
He then made his way to the store, where he met a security guard and a policeman who tried to prevent him from entering, but the guard’s bullet failed to penetrate the attacker’s armor. Grammaglia said the shooter shot and killed a police officer before making his way through the rest of the store.
This is not the first time mass murderer Payton Gendron has come to the attention of law enforcement, as the teenager threatened his classmates in June 2021. A spokesman for the school stated that Gendron “made statements indicating that he wanted to shoot, either at prom or sometime after.”
The Buffalo News reported that state police were investigating the case and Gendron was referred for counseling and a mental health evaluation. Gov. Kathy Hochhole called the suspect a “white supremacist” at a briefing Saturday night in Buffalo before vowing to take more action to crack down on gun trafficking, with law enforcement stepping up social media monitoring.
