A white 18-year-old wearing military gear and livestreaming with a helmet camera opened fire with a rifle at a supermarket in Buffalo, killing 10 people and wounding three others Saturday in what authorities described as "racially motivated violent extremism." Police said he shot 11 Black and two white victims before surrendering to authorities in a rampage he broadcast live on the streaming platform Twitch.
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Court papers named the suspect as Payton Gendron of Conklin, a town of about 5,000 people in New York's Southern Tier region near the Pennsylvania border. Authorities said Gendron, who was armed with an assault-style rifle and appeared to have acted alone, drove to Buffalo from his home several hours away to launch the afternoon attack that he broadcast in real-time on social media platform Twitch, a live video service owned by Amazon.
He was arraigned hours after the shooting in state court on first-degree murder charges, which carry a maximum penalty of life in prison without parole, said Erie County District Attorney John Flynn. New York has no capital punishment.
Anti-Defamation League National Director Jonathan Greenblatt denounced the shooting: "While details of the horrific shooting in Buffalo are still emerging, there are already strong indicators that the individual who allegedly carried out this attack was heavily influenced by white supremacist ideology, including the virulently antisemitic and racist 'Great Replacement' conspiracy theory.
"This shooting is a deadly reminder of the dangers of white supremacy, and the need to call out these hateful views at every opportunity. We extend our thoughts and prayers to victims and their families of this horrific hate crime, and we stand in solidarity with the African American community at this difficult time," he said.
