10 dead in ‘racially motivated’ mass shooting at Buffalo supermarket

BUFFALO, N.Y. —  A gunman opened fire with a rifle Saturday at a supermarket in Buffalo, N.Y., in what authorities called a “hate crime and racially motived violent extremism,” killing 10 people and wounding three others before being taken into custody, law enforcement officials said.

Police officials said the 18-year-old gunman, who is white, wore body armor in addition to military-style clothing, pulled up Saturday afternoon and opened fire with a rifle at a Tops Friendly Market, livestreaming the shooting via a camera affixed to his helmet.

“He exited his vehicle. He was very heavily armed. He had tactical gear. He had a tactical helmet on. He had a camera that he was livestreaming what he was doing,” city Police Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia said at a news conference.

Gramaglia said the gunman shot four people outside the store, and three of them died. Inside the store, a security guard who was a retired Buffalo police officer fired multiple shots at the gunman and struck him, but the bullet hit the gunman’s bulletproof vest and had no effect, Gramaglia said. He said the gunman then killed the security guard.

Video showed the suspect walking into the supermarket and shooting several other victims inside, according to authorities.

Officials said 11 of the victims are Black and two are white. The shooting happened in a predominantly Black neighborhood a few miles north of downtown Buffalo.

“This is the worst nightmare that any community can face, and we are hurting and we are seething right now,” Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown said at a news conference. “The depth of pain that families are feeling and that all of us are feeling right now cannot even be explained.”

Gramaglia said Buffalo police entered the store and confronted the gunman in the vestibule.

“At that point the suspect put the gun to his own neck. Buffalo police personnel -- two patrol officers -- talked the suspect into dropping the gun. He dropped the gun, took off some of his tactical gear, surrendered at that point. And he was led outside, put in a police car,” he said.

The suspect was identified as Payton Gendron of Conklin, about 200 miles southeast of Buffalo in New York state, two law enforcement officials told the Associated Press. The officials were not permitted to speak publicly on the matter and did so on the condition of anonymity.

NAACP President Derrick Johnson released a statement in which he called the shooting “absolutely devastating.”

“Our hearts are with the community and all who have been impacted by this terrible tragedy. Hate and racism have no place in America. We are shattered, extremely angered and praying for the victims’ families and loved ones,” he said.

The Rev. Al Sharpton called on the White House to convene a meeting with Black, Jewish and Asian American leaders “to underscore the Federal government [is] escalating its efforts against hate crimes.” In a tweet, Sharpton said that “leaders of all these communities should stand together on this!”

Braedyn Kephart and Shane Hill, both 20, said they pulled into the parking lot just as the suspect was exiting. They described him as a white male in his late teens or early 20s sporting full camo clothing, a black helmet and what appeared to be a rifle.

“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?” Kephart said, adding that after the suspect dropped to his knees, “he ripped off his helmet, dropped his gun, and was tackled by the police.”

Law enforcement closed off the block, lined by spectators, and yellow police tape surrounded the parking lot.

More than two hours after the shooting, Erica Pugh-Mathews was waiting outside the store behind the police tape.

“We would like to know the status of my aunt, my mother’s sister. She was in there with her fiance. They separated and went to different aisles,” she said. “A bullet barely missed him. He was able to hide in a freezer, but he was not able to get to my aunt and does not know where she is. We just would like word either way if she’s OK.”

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul tweeted that she was “closely monitoring the shooting at a grocery store in Buffalo,” her hometown. She said state officials had offered help to local authorities. The Erie County Sheriff’s Office said on social media that it had ordered all available personnel to assist Buffalo police.

At the White House, Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said President Joe Biden was receiving regular updates on the shooting and the investigation and had offered prayers with the first lady for the victims and their loved ones.

“The president has been briefed by his Homeland Security advisor on the horrific shooting in Buffalo, N.Y., this afternoon. He will continue to receive updates throughout the evening and tomorrow as further information develops,” she said.

U.S. Atty. Gen. Merrick Garland was briefed on the shooting, Justice Department spokesperson Anthony Coley said.

The shooting came a little more than a year after a March 2021 attack at a King Soopers grocery in Boulder, Colo., that killed 10 people. Investigators have not released any information about why they believe the man charged in that attack targeted the supermarket.