Payton Gendron

Buffalo mass shooting suspect Payton Gendron pleaded guilty on Monday to all 25 state charges.

He pleaded guilty to 10 counts of first-degree murder, 10 counts of second-degree murder as a hate crime and three counts of attempted murder as a hate crime, as well as other assorted charges.
Gendron carried out the racist massacre on May 14 at a Tops Friendly Market where he killed 10 people.

He also wounded three others in the attack with a semi-automatic rifle.

His plea, initially scheduled to take place on Nov. 21, was delayed by one week due to the weather.
He faces a maximum possible sentence of life in prison without parole, because New York state does not have the death penalty.

Gendron also faces 27 counts in a federal case, which includes hate crime and firearm charges. That case could bring the death penalty if he is convicted.

U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland in Buffalo to announce Federal charges against suspect in Buffalo mass shooting that killed 10.

Federal charges are being filed against the 18-year-old accused of fatally shooting 10 people at the Tops store in Buffalo.

The U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York has filed a 26-count criminal complaint against Payton Gendron.

The charges include 10 counts of a hate crime resulting in death, three counts of a hate crime involving bodily injury and attempt to kill, 10 counts of use of a firearm to commit murder during and in relation to a crime of violence, and three counts of use and discharge of a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence.

If convicted of the federal charges of use of a firearm to commit murder during and in relation to a crime of violence, the alleged shooter could face the death penalty.

In the criminal complaint, federal officials allege that his motive was to “prevent Black people from replacing white people and eliminating the white race, and to inspire others to commit similar attacks.”

Previously, the accused shooter was already indicted on 25 other counts.

No one in New York had ever previously been indicted on a charge of domestic act of terrorism motivated by hate in the first degree.

U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland visited Buffalo on Wednesday to pay respects at the site of the mass shooting on Buffalo’s east side. He and U.S. Attorney Trini Ross met with the families of the victims, as well.

Scene of shooting at Tops Markets on Jefferson Avenue in Buffalo (Photo Credit: WKBW)

The White man charged with murdering 10 people at a Tops supermarket in Buffalo appeared briefly in court Thursday.

The Associated Press reports prosecutors said that the suspect, 18-year old Payton Gendron, has been indicted on a first-degree murder charge, but the felony hearing in Buffalo City Court was adjourned until June 9. He will remain held in jail without bail. An investigation by a Grand Jury will now follow.

In New York, prosecutors can charge a defendant with first-degree murder only under special circumstances, including when multiple people are killed in a single incident, like in the Buffalo shooting. The single count against the alleged shooter covers all 10 deaths at the supermarket.

Thirteen people in all were shot Saturday in a predominantly Black neighborhood of Buffalo. Federal prosecutors are also expected to charge the 18-year-old man with hate crimes.

The alleged shooter livestreamed the attack. Shortly before the attack, he posted hundreds of pages of writings to online discussion groups where he detailed his plans for the assault and his racist motivation.

Investigators have been examining those documents, which included a private diary he kept on the chat platform Discord.

The diary said the alleged shooter planned his attack in secret, with no outside help, but Discord confirmed Wednesday that an invitation to access his private writings was sent to a small group of people about 30 minutes before the assault began.

Some of them accepted the invitation. It was unclear how many read what he had written or logged on to view the assault live. It also wasn’t clear whether anyone tried to alert law enforcement.

Buffalo Police Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia has said investigators were working to obtain, verify and review the suspect’s online postings.

Governor Kathy Hochul has authorized State Attorney General Letitia James to investigate social media platforms used by the alleged shooter to determine if they were liable for “providing a platform to plan and promote violence.”

Governor Kathy Hochul in Buffalo following mass shooting (May 15, 2022)

Governor Kathy Hochul promised to advance new gun control legislation following Saturday’s mass shooting at the Tops Market on Jefferson Avenue in Buffalo.

WBFO reports an 18-year-old White male allegedly killed 10 people and injured three others at the grocery store located on the city’s predominately Black East Side in an attack that authorities say was a hate crime.

Hochul arrived in Buffalo and addressed the media several hours later and shared some information about the gunman’s weapon. She said the firearm was legally purchased but modified with illegal magazines.

The Broome County home of the alleged gunman is just seven miles from the Pennsylvania border. He has been charged with first-degree murder and is in jail without bail.

As part of her State of the State address earlier this year, Hochul acknowledged increasing gun violence and announced a three-part agenda, which includes funding law enforcement gun safety initiatives and partnering with neighboring states to crack down on gun trafficking.

Hochul said she had already planned to announce a new gun reform package this week prior to Saturday’s shooting.

The gunman livestreamed the shooting on Twitch, a video streaming site that is typically used to live stream video games. The website said it removed the channel within two minutes of the shooting starting, but Hochul said social media outlets must be more vigilant.

Hochul said she plans to continue work with local, state and federal authorities to identify similar messages online, adding that it is their “best defense right now.”