The criminal charge filed Wednesday against Payton Gendron coincided with Attorney General Merrick Garland’s visit to Buffalo. He gathered with the families of the murdered people and placed a bouquet of white flowers tied with a yellow ribbon on a memorial outside the store, closed since the attack.
“No one in this country should have to live in fear of going to work or shopping at a grocery store and be attacked by someone who hates them because of the color of their skin,” Garland told a news conference. aimed at federal officials.
An FBI agent inspects bulletproof glass windows at the Buffalo shooting scene. (AP) Garland, who stopped federal executions last year, did not rule out seeking the death penalty against Gendron. He said the Justice Department will follow long-established procedures to consider whether to seek the death penalty and that “families and survivors will be consulted” in the process.
Three of the victim’s children, 86-year-old Ruth Whitfield, said they told Garland at their private meeting that they were grateful he was there and wanted to make sure he didn’t see the “Buffalo shooting” as a singular case. “.
“This is a problem across America,” said his son, former Buffalo Fire Commissioner Garnell Whitfield Jr.
“Justice does not end for our mother and the other nine victims. This is how we prevent these horrific crimes from happening, breaking the hearts of other families,” said her brother Raymond Whitfield.
Gendron, 18, was already facing a mandatory life sentence without parole if convicted of state charges previously filed in the May 14 scene at the Tops Friendly Market.
Payton Gendron speaks with his attorney during his appearance in Buffalo City Court on Saturday, May 14, 2022, in Buffalo, NY Gendron was tried on first-degree murder charges and ordered his arrest without bail. Police officials said the 18-year-old was wearing military-style armor and clothing when he got up and opened fire on people at a Tops Friendly Market. (Mark Mulville / Buffalo News) (AP)
The federal hate crime case is based in part on documents in which Gendron set out his radical and racist worldview and extensive preparation for the attack, some of which he posted online shortly before he started firing. .
FBI agents executing a search warrant at Gendron’s home the day after the shooting found a note apologizing to his family for the shooting and stating that he “had to commit this attack” because he cared about “the future of the white race “. “, according to an affidavit filed with the criminal complaint.
Officers at Conklin’s New York home also found a receipt for a candy bar bought at the grocery store on March 8, the day Gendron told an online newspaper that he was going to explore the store. as well as hand-drawn sketches of the store’s design. , said the affidavit.
The affidavit also includes detailed accounts of Gendron’s plot to attack the store, which he documented in detail in the online newspaper, and of the attack itself, which he broadcast live on social media.
Ten people have died after a mass shooting at a supermarket in New York State. (AP)
Shortly before opening fire, Gendron invited a small group of people to see his plans for the attack. It was unclear whether any of the people who accessed Gendron’s diary or watched its live broadcast did anything to alert authorities or try to stop the attack.
Garland and FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate said investigators are investigating who Gendron may have been in communication with before the shooting.
In his writings, Gendron adopted an unfounded conspiracy theory about a conspiracy to diminish the power of white Americans and “replace” them with people of color, through immigration and other means.
The publications detail months of reconnaissance, demographic research and shooting practices for a bloodbath intended to scare all non-whites and Christians into leaving the country.
Gendron drove more than 300 miles (300 km) from his home in an almost completely white city near the New York-Pennsylvania border to a predominantly black part of Buffalo. There, authorities say, he fired approximately 60 shots at shoppers and workers with an AR-15-style rifle, body armor for protection and transmitting the carnage live from a helmet-mounted camera.
Two people embrace after 10 people died at the supermarket in a mass shooting in Buffalo, New York. (AP)
Three wounded, one black and two white, survived the attack. According to the affidavit, Gendron temporarily maintained fire to apologize to a white store employee after shooting him in the leg and then aimed at the blacks again. Gendron turned himself in to police as he left the supermarket.
Gendron’s rifle had writings, including the names of other people who had committed mass shootings, racial insults and statements such as “Here’s your fix!”, And a reference to the theory of substitution, according to the affidavit. .
Gendron has pleaded not guilty to one count of state domestic terrorism, including hate terrorism and homicide.
Federal charges were announced just over a month after the shooting.
People gather in front of a supermarket where several people were killed in a shooting. (AP)
“This process may not be as fast as some would expect, but it will be comprehensive, fair, comprehensive, and will reflect the best of our community and democracy,” said U.S. Attorney General Trini Ross, a buffalo native.
The case is likely to present a dilemma for Garland, who has vowed to aggressively prioritize the prosecution of civil rights cases, but also instituted a moratorium on federal executions last year following an unprecedented death penalty in the United States. end of the Trump administration.
The moratorium established in July 2021 prevents the Prisons Office from carrying out any executions, as the Department of Justice is conducting a review of its policies and procedures for the death penalty. But the note does not prohibit federal prosecutors from seeking the death penalty, a decision that will ultimately fall to Garland.
President Joe Biden has said he opposes the death penalty and his team has vowed to take steps to stop its use while in office.
Ten days after the Buffalo attack, another 18-year-old man with a semi-automatic rifle opened fire on an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, killing 19 children and two teachers.
Buffalo’s largely African-American community is in shock after the mass shooting. (AP)
Shortly afterwards, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul signed 10 public safety bills, including one banning New Yorkers under the age of 21 from buying semi-automatic rifles.
The U.S. Senate followed on June 12 with a bipartisan agreement on more modest federal arms cuts and intensified efforts to improve school safety and mental health programs.
Garland on Wednesday approved changing federal law to raise the age for buying rifles, President Joe Biden said after the Buffalo and Uvalde shootings.
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“The Justice Department agrees with the president that 18-year-olds should not be able to buy a weapon like this,” Garland said.