Scene of shooting at Tops Markets on Jefferson Avenue in Buffalo (Photo Credit: WKBW)
President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden will travel to Buffalo today to meet with the families of victims of Saturday’s deadly shooting at a grocery store.
WBFO reports the trip comes three days after a gunman opened fire in a Tops Friendly Market store in a predominantly Black neighborhood of Buffalo, leaving 10 people dead. Following his arrest, the 18-year-old suspect told officials he was targeting the Black community.
After the shooting, a document allegedly tied to the gunman emerged online. It includes racist, anti-immigrant views and cites the Replacement Theory — a far-right, White nationalist conspiracy theory that baselessly claims that White people in American are being systematically replaced by people of color.
U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement that the Department of Justice is investigating the shooting “as a hate crime and an act of racially motivated violent extremism.”
During their trip on Tuesday, the President and first lady will visit the Tops Market before meeting with the family members of the victims, first responders, law enforcement and local leaders, according to a White House official.
Biden is then expected to speak at the community center where he will call on Congress to take action to on gun control in order to keep weapons out of the hands of criminals and people with serious mental illness.
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