Horror in Buffalo: ten people were killed in a shooting in a supermarket on Saturday. The alleged shooter, who filmed the attack live, was said to be racially motivated, the FBI believes.
Updated yesterday at 11:20 p.m.
It is the deadliest mass shooting so far this year in the United States, according to the Gun Violence Archive database.
In the early afternoon of Saturday, a man wearing a bulletproof vest and armed with an assault rifle opened fire at a grocery store in Buffalo, New York. Ten people were killed and three others were injured.
According to local media, several bodies were lying lifeless in the parking lot of the Tops Friendly Markets chain store when the police arrived.
-
THE PRESS
The following photo may be shocking. We prefer to let you know.
-
PHOTO PROVIDED BY REUTERS
People were shot in the parking lot of the Tops Friendly Markets chain store.
1/2
The suspect, an 18-year-old white male, pleaded not guilty to first degree murder and was taken into custody without bail.
Of the 13 victims of the shooting, 11 were black.
PHOTO MARK MULVILLE, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Payton Gendron, 18, is the alleged perpetrator of the killing. He is seen above appearing in court in Buffalo.
Shortly before the attack, Payton Gendron posted a hateful manifesto online referencing the far-right racist ‘great replacement’ theory, according to a senior US law enforcement official, as reported the New York Times.
The location of the assault was not unimportant: the manifesto outlined every step of a plan to kill as many black people as possible. The supermarket where the tragedy took place is located in a predominantly African-American neighborhood of Buffalo.
To get there, the alleged shooter had to drive 320 kilometers from Conklin, a small community southeast of Buffalo, where he resides.
PHOTO JOSHUA BESSEX, ASSOCIATED PRESS
A policeman speaks to passers-by standing near the supermarket.
“We are investigating this event as both a hate crime and a case of racially motivated violent extremism,” FBI Special Agent Stephen Belongia said at a press conference.
The Erie County District Attorney’s Office is also investigating a racially motivated crime, after obtaining “some evidence” that points in that direction.
United States President Joe Biden has been made aware of the shooting, said Karine Jean-Pierre, White House press secretary.
“He will continue to receive updates throughout the evening and tomorrow as developments arise. The President and First Lady are praying for those who lost their lives and for their loved ones,” a statement said.
Broadcast live
More disturbingly, the shooter had broadcast the shooting live on Twitch, a live streaming platform popular with video game enthusiasts.
The video has been removed from the platform, but a disturbing clip has circulated on social media. We see the last seconds before the attack, while Mr. Gendron, seated behind the wheel, weaves between the cars parked in front of the grocery store.
In a statement, Twitch said the site “enforces a zero-tolerance policy towards any form of violence and responds promptly to all incidents.”
“The user has been suspended from our service indefinitely, and we are taking all appropriate action, including monitoring any accounts reposting this content,” the company said.
The horror
Bodies everywhere. In the aisles of the grocery store. On the asphalt of the parking lot. The testimonies of the tragedy chill the blood. “It’s like being in a horror movie, but it’s all real,” a police officer told local media.
PHOTO JOSHUA BESSEX, ASSOCIATED PRESS
People hug near the place where the tragedy occurred.
On Saturday evening, fearful relatives were still waiting outside the large security perimeter.
Barbara Massey Mapps, without news of her sister gone shopping, feared the worst. “I will stay here until I see my sister,” she told the New York Times.
PHOTO BY DEREK GEE, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Police vehicles block a street in Buffalo where there is a supermarket that was the scene of a shooting.
Others thank life for having escaped it. ” I went [au Tops] yesterday to buy lemonade. I won’t go anymore”, says Ginny Onça A Suçuarana to The Press. She hasn’t been out since the killing. His street, a few blocks from the supermarket, is “normally peaceful”.
“I am angry, because there will be a political recovery. I feel so bad for all these people [noirs] “, she laments.
Michael Epperson also did not leave his house that afternoon, fearing for his safety. Ten minutes before the shooting, his uncle had stopped by the grocery store. ” It’s crazy. My uncle was friends with the security guard who got shot, and they had talked about the weather,” he tells us.
PHOTO JOSHUA BESSEX, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Police investigating the crime scene stand near a small makeshift memorial.
Indeed, authorities have confirmed that a retired policeman who worked as a security guard was among the victims. The man had also tried to neutralize the shooter, without success.
“I just hope nothing like this happens again. It’s horrible and it’s terrifying for people in the neighborhood,” says Mr. Epperson.
New calls to restrict guns
Quickly, elected officials condemned the racism that motivated this tragedy and called again for tighter gun control.
New York Democratic Senator Kirsten Gillibrand has vowed to continue to fight for tougher gun laws and “defeat the scourge of white supremacy”. Democratic Majority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer has also offered to help the mayor of Buffalo.
Other lawmakers, including Illinois Republican Adam Kinzinger, have raised the possibility of restricting the purchase of guns. ” [Cette fusillade] reminds why we don’t play with white nationalism,” he said.
— With Agence France-Presse and the New York Times