Buffalo – Archyde.com
New York authorities are investigating on Sunday how an 18-year-old gunman indiscriminately shot 10 people in a black Buffalo neighborhood, even though the New York governor said the attacker had been under surveillance since he was in high school. .
The shooter, Payton Gendron, surrendered to police Saturday after the shooting at a grocery store in Buffalo, New York, in what authorities said would be investigated as a hate crime and an act of “racistly motivated violent extremism.” The accused posted what appeared to be racist comments on the Internet.
Buffalo Police Commissioner Joseph Grammaglia told reporters Sunday: “The evidence we’ve found so far leaves no doubt that this is a racial hate crime, and it will be prosecuted as a hate crime.”
Officials said 11 of the 13 people shot were black, and the other two were white.
Authorities said Gendron drove to Buffalo from his home several hours away to carry out the attack, which was broadcast live on the Internet.
New York Governor Kathy Hoshol said the shooting weapon was legally spaced, but had been illegally modified to include a larger bullet magazine. On Sunday, dozens of local residents held a memorial service for the victims outside the grocery store.
A massive 180-page statement has been circulating online since Saturday, allegedly written by the attacker, about a theory that there is a racist conspiracy to replace whites with minorities in the United States and other countries.
“This statement tells us everything, and that’s exactly what makes it so terrifying,” Hoshol told CNN on Sunday.
She told ABC News that Gendron was under surveillance by the authorities because of what he wrote while he was in high school.
The governor emphasized that the investigation into the massacre would focus on how he was able to carry out the attack, even though it was known to the authorities, who assessed that it posed no threat. She also criticized his ability to broadcast his crime through social media.
Erie County District Attorney John Flynn said the defendant was in court and has been charged with first-degree murder, which carries a maximum penalty of life in prison without parole. The accused pleaded not guilty.
In a statement, US President Joe Biden condemned the shooting, describing it as a “hateful act targeting the fabric of the nation.”