THE suspected gunman who allegedly killed ten people at a supermarket in Buffalo had planned to drive to another store for a second attack, officials said.
Payton Gendron, 18,is accused of opening fire in the massacre that took place at Tops Friendly Markets store in New York on Saturday.
Buffalo Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia told ABC News: “We have uncovered information that if he escaped the [Tops] supermarket, he had plans to continue his attack.
"He had plans to continue driving down Jefferson Ave to shoot more black people … possibly go to another store [or] location."
US Attorney Merrick Garland revealed that the Department of Justice is investigating the shooting as a "hate crime" and "an act of racially-motivated violent extremism".
Aaron Salter, Roberta Drury, 32; Margus Morrison, 52 and Geraldine Talley were among the victims of the shooting.
read more on buffalo shooting
Victims named and Hochul slams Twitch over suspect’s chilling vid
Heartbreaking victim tributes line streets after 10 killed in Buffalo shooting
Celestine Chaney, 65, Heyward Patterson, 67; Katherine Massey, 72; Pearl Young 77; Ruth Whitfield, 86, and Andre Mackneil, 53 also died.
Retired Buffalo Fire Commissioner Garnell W. Whitfield, paid tribute to the 86-year-old as he told The Buffalo News: “My mom was the consummate mom. My mother was a mother to the motherless.
“She was a blessing to all of us. She loved God and taught us to do the same thing."
Meanwhile, Pearl asked to be dropped off at the store on the day of the shooting.
Her son Damon was supposed to pick her up, according to the Washington Post.
The pair had been speaking throughout but lost contact when the chaos unfolded.
Damon said: "She wasn't answering, wasn't calling back", before learning that his mom had been killed.
Zaire Goodman, 20, Jennifer Warrington, 50, and Christopher Braden, 55, were treated in a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries and have since been released.
Of the 13 victims, 11 were black, according to law enforcement.
Customers hid in freezers to escape the bloody rampage at the store.
Lamont Thomas and his daughter Londin, eight, crammed behind a set of milk coolers.
Lamont described the shots as “never-ending”.
'NEVER ENDING' SHOTS
He told News 10 ABC: “He actually shot through the milk carton, but no bullets went through. We were protected by the storage room back there.
“From there we waited until the shots stopped and the police came.”
Tops Market operations manager Shonnell Harris said: “I ran around the front of the building, experienced someone get shot, and ran around the back to get my daughter.”
New York State Attorney General Letitia James branded the massacre an act of "domestic terrorism" during a press conference on Sunday.
Gendron was seen in photos during his arrest wearing military fatigues.
Police said he was wearing body armor and a helmet fitted with a camera to live-stream the shooting and upload it directly to Twitch.
The teenager pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder, and his lawyer requested a forensics exam.
Gendron reportedly made violent threats toward other students at his high school, which prompted a police investigation in June 2021.
He had reportedly spoken about carrying out a shooting at a graduation ceremony or at a similar event, according to The Buffalo News.
The school officials described him as a "very troubled young man," leading state police to investigate him under a section of mental health laws.
He was then referred for a mental health evaluation and counseling.
Read More On The Sun
Kim Kardashian flaunts her tiny waist in a skintight outfit in new photos
Guard’s heroic last act praised as first Buffalo shooting victims named
The judge denied bail, and Gendron is scheduled to be back in court on Thursday morning.
President Biden said: “We must all work together to address the hate that remains a stain on the soul of America.”
We pay for your stories!
Do you have a story for The US Sun team?
Email us at [email protected] or call 212 416 4552. Like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/TheSunUS and follow us from our main Twitter account at @TheSunUS
Source: Read Full Article