Photos: VP Kamala Harris attends funeral of the oldest Buffalo shooting victim

BUFFALO, NY - MAY 28: Vice President Kamala Harris speaks to Robin Harris, the oldest daughter of Ruth Whitfield, as they attend the funeral of Ruth Whitfield at Mt. Olive Baptist Church, on Saturday, May 28, 2022 in Buffalo, NY. Mrs. Whitfield was one of ten people killed two weeks ago in what federal officials are calling an act of "racially motivated violent extremism," by a white man, in the shooting of a supermarket in a historically black neighborhood of Buffalo, NY. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
Vice President Kamala Harris speaks to Robin Harris, the oldest daughter of Ruth Whitfield, as they attend the funeral of Whitfield at Mt. Olive Baptist Church in Buffalo, N.Y., on Saturday. (Kent Nishimura/Los Angeles Times)

Vice President Kamala Harris and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff traveled to Buffalo, N.Y., on Saturday for the funeral of Buffalo mass shooting victim 86-year-old Ruth Whitfield.

During the service, Harris made a surprise address to the mourners. “We will not allow small people to create fear in our community,” she said. “We will not be afraid to stand up for what’s right, to speak truth even when it may be difficult to hear and speak.”

Kamala Harris hugs woman.
Vice President Kamala Harris hugs Robin Harris, daughter of Ruth Whitfield, as Angela Crawley, Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff and Garnell Whitfield Jr. look on. (Kent Nishimura/Los Angeles Times)
Kamala Harris smiles at her husband, Doug Emhoff
Vice President Kamala Harris smiles at her husband, Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff, after delivering remarks during the funeral of Ruth Whitfield. (Kent Nishimura/Los Angeles Times)
Kamala Harris speaks at funeral in a church with many funeral wreaths and people in seats.
Vice President Kamala Harris, flanked by the Rev. Al Sharpton, delivers remarks during the funeral of Ruth Whitfield at Mt. Olive Baptist Church in Buffalo, N.Y. (Kent Nishimura/Los Angeles Times)
Kamala Harris and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff look at a large photo of a woman.
Kamala Harris places flowers at a memorial.
President Kamala Harris and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff pay their respects at a memorial at Tops Friendly Market in Buffalo. (Kent Nishimura/Los Angeles Times)
Kamala Harris walks outside under cloudy skies with water on the pavement
Vice President Kamala Harris and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff disembark from Air Force 2 at Buffalo-Niagra International Airport on Saturday. (Kent Nishimura/Los Angeles Times)

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

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