Buffalo shooting suspect planned to continue rampage after supermarket massacre: police
KATE FELDMAN
The man accused of killing 10 people at a Buffalo supermarket Saturday planned to keep gunning down innocent victims in other locations, police revealed Monday.
“We have uncovered information that if he escaped the [Tops] supermarket, he had plans to continue his attack,” Buffalo Police Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia told ABC News Monday morning. “He had plans to continue driving down Jefferson Ave. to shoot more Black people ... possibly go to another store [or] location.”
Payton Gendron, 18, allegedly shot 13 people at the Tops Friendly Market Saturday afternoon, killing 10 of them.
Payton Gendron pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder in court Saturday night.
Payton Gendron pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder in court Saturday night.
The white man, who traveled hours from his home town of Conklin and came dressed in body armor and a tactical helmet, was specifically targeting Black people, according to an online manifesto in his name.
Buffalo had the “highest Black percentage that is close enough to where I live,” Gendron allegedly wrote.
He also cited his inspirations, including Christchurch shooter Brenton Tarrant, who murdered 51 people at two New Zealand mosques in 2019; Dylann Roof, who killed nine Black people at a church in South Carolina in 2015; and Anders Breivik, who killed 77 people in Norway in 2011.
Describing himself as a fascist, a white supremacist and an anti-Semite, Gendron allegedly regurgitated tropes of the Great Replacement Theory, which claims that white people are being marginalized and wiped out.
A cyclist pauses while passing the scene of a shooting at a supermarket in Buffalo, N.Y. on Sunday, May 15, 2022.
Children walk hand in hand out near the scene of a shooting at a supermarket in Buffalo, N.Y. on Sunday, May 15, 2022.
Stephanie Morris is overcome with emotions outside of a shooting at a supermarket in Buffalo, N.Y. on Sunday, May 15, 2022.
Flowers and candles lay outside the scene of a shooting at a supermarket in Buffalo, N.Y. on Sunday, May 15, 2022.
Payton Gendron talks with his attorney during his arraignment in Buffalo City Court on Saturday, May 14, 2022, in Buffalo, N.Y. Gendron was arraigned on first-degree murder charges and ordered detained without bail. Police officials said the 18-year-old was wearing body armor and military-style clothing when he pulled up and opened fire at people at a Tops Friendly Market.
Suspected shooter Payton Gendron appears during his arraignment in Buffalo City Court on Saturday, May 14, 2022, in Buffalo, N.Y. Gendron was arraigned on first-degree murder charges and ordered detained without bail. Police officials said the 18-year-old was wearing body armor and military-style clothing when he pulled up and opened fire at people at a Tops Friendly Market.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul speaks at a news conference after a shooting at a supermarket on Saturday, May 14, 2022, in Buffalo, N.Y.
Police speak to bystanders while investigating a shooting at a supermarket on Saturday, May 14, 2022, in Buffalo, N.Y.
People hug outside the scene after a shooting at a supermarket on Saturday, May 14, 2022, in Buffalo, N.Y.
Police walk along the perimeter of the scene after a shooting at a supermarket on Saturday, May 14, 2022, in Buffalo, N.Y. Officials said the gunman entered the supermarket with a rifle and opened fire. Investigators believe the man may have been livestreaming the shooting and were looking into whether he had posted a manifesto online.
Police secure an area around a supermarket where several people were killed in a shooting on Saturday, May 14, 2022, in Buffalo, N.Y.
A crowd gathers as police investigate after a shooting at a supermarket on Saturday, May 14, 2022, in Buffalo, N.Y. Multiple people were shot at the Tops Friendly Market. Police have notified the public that the alleged shooter was in custody.
Police investigate after a shooting at a supermarket on Saturday, May 14, 2022, in Buffalo, N.Y.
A chaplain with the Buffalo Police Department walks in the parking lot after a shooting at a supermarket, Saturday, May 14, 2022, in Buffalo, N.Y.
A body lies covered in the parking lot of a supermarket where several people were killed in a shooting on Saturday, May 14, 2022, in Buffalo, N.Y. Officials said the gunman entered the supermarket with a rifle and opened fire.
Bystanders gather under an umbrella as rain rolls in after a shooting at a supermarket on Saturday, May 14, 2022, in Buffalo, N.Y.
A police officer looks out a store window as authorities investigate a shooting at the supermarket on Saturday, May 14, 2022, in Buffalo, N.Y.
A bystander watches as police investigate after a shooting at a supermarket on Saturday, May 14, 2022, in Buffalo, N.Y.
Police vehicles block off the street where at least 10 people were killed in a shooting at a supermarket, Saturday, May 14, 2022 in Buffalo, N.Y.
Buffalo Police Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia speaks at a press conference after a shooting at a supermarket on Saturday, May 14, 2022, in Buffalo, N.Y.
The Department of Justice is investigating the shooting as a “hate crime and an act of racially-motivated violent extremism.”
Gendron eventually surrendered after the shooting, talked down by two officers after putting his own gun to his neck.
He pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder Saturday night.
A manager at the grocery store told the Daily News Sunday that she saw Gendron lurking around the shop on Friday, a day before the shooting.
Payton Gendron
Payton Gendron
“He was acting like he was homeless and needed change,” Shonnell Teague told The News. “He really was checking out the store.”
Gramaglia also said during a press conference Sunday that investigators believe Gendron did “reconnaissance” in the area in preparation.
An AR-15 rifle was found at the scene and another rifle and a shotgun were found in Gendron’s car, according to officials.
Erie County Sheriff John Garcia said Sunday that Gendron is on suicide watch and being kept separately from other inmates at an Erie County jail.
