Buffalo Tops shooter who killed 10 in racist attack to plead guilty (reports)

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The gunman who killed 10 people in a racist mass shooting at Tops Friendly Market in Buffalo will plead guilty, according to multiple reports.

The Buffalo News and WGRZ have confirmed that Payton Gendron, who is charged with killing 10 Black people and wounding three others at the supermarket on May 14, is expected to plead guilty to 25 state charges on Monday in Erie County Court. Both publications were told by a family member of one of the victims after the families were informed.

Gendron, described by authorities as a white supremacist, is said to have driven 200 miles from his home in the Southern Tier town of Conklin to the Tops grocery store where he carried out his attack and livestreamed the carnage. Investigators said he chose the location because it is in a favorably Black neighborhood; the shooter wrote in an online diary that he was inspired by violent videos he had seen, including a mass shooting at a mosque in Christchurch, New Zealand.

Gendron has been charged with 10 counts of first-degree murder; 10 counts of second-degree murder as a hate crime; first-degree domestic act of terrorism motivated by hate; three counts of second-degree attempted murder as a hate crime; and one count of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon. A conviction for domestic terrorism carries an automatic life sentence without parole.

He also potentially faces the death penalty if convicted of federal hate crime charges.

FILE – Payton Gendron appears during his arraignment in Buffalo City Court, Saturday, May 14, 2022, in Buffalo, NY (Mark Mulville/The Buffalo News via AP, File)AP

This is but one chapter of accountability for this horrific massacre. There is more to come, attorney Terrence M. Connors, who represents families of multiple victims, told the Buffalo News.

New York has since banned anyone under age 21 from buying or possessing a semi-automatic rifle like the one used in the Buffalo shooting. Gendron was 18 at the time of the massacre.

The Associated Press reports neighborhood, elected and community leaders recently announced a permanent memorial is being planned in the Buffalo neighborhood to honor the victims, which included Roberta Drury, 32, a former Cicero-North Syracuse High School student; and Andre Drew Mackniel Sr., 53, who lived in Buffalo but has family in Syracuse and Auburn. A planning commission has been created to raise funds and seek input for the monuments design.

The shooting is part of the Buffalo story forever going forward, said Gov. Kathy Hochul, who is from Buffalo, last month. We want to do something that people remember. A place to come and reflect. A place to honour. And a place to say never again.

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