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The gunman accused of targeting and killing 10 black people in a supermarket in Buffalo, New York, was charged Thursday by a grand jury of a large number of federal hate crimes and gun charges , announced the Department of Justice.
Payton Gendron, who was 18 at the time of the shooting, faces life in prison or the death penalty if convicted.
The indictment comes about a month after federal charges of hate crimes were announced. He has also pleaded not guilty to 25 state charges, including murder, attempted murder and domestic terrorism.
Prosecutors say Gendron planned the attack for months and was motivated by racist beliefs. FBI agents found a note at his home the day after the shooting in which he said he “had to commit this attack” because he was concerned “about the future of the white race,” according to a sworn statement.
Buffalo shooting suspect Payton S. Gendron, accused of killing 10 people in a live shoot at a supermarket in a black neighborhood of Buffalo, is escorted to the courtroom with handcuffs in Buffalo, New York. USA, May 19, 2022. (Reuters / Brendan McDermid)
The weapon Gendron allegedly used, a Bushmaster XM rifle, had racial insults scribbled, as well as, “Here’s your repairs!” and the names of other people who have committed mass shootings.
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A newspaper he maintained also included “statements that his motivation for the attack was to prevent blacks from replacing whites and eliminating the white race, and to inspire others to commit similar attacks on racial grounds,” according to a criminal complaint.
“The Justice Department fully recognizes the threat posed by white supremacy violence to the security of the American people and American democracy,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement Thursday. “We will continue to be relentless in our efforts to fight hate crimes, to support communities terrorized by them and to hold those who perpetrate them accountable.”
Garland will determine at a later date whether to apply for the death penalty. Gendron’s lawyers have told the court that federal prosecutors told them it could be a year before the decision on the death penalty was made.
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The Tops Friendly supermarket where the shooting took place, meanwhile, reopened on Thursday for the first time since the May 14 shooting.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Paul Best is a Fox News Digital journalist. Story tips can be sent to Paul.best@fox.com and Twitter: @KincaidBest.