A grand jury has indicted the suspect in the horrific Buffalo supermarket shooting with 27 counts, including federal hate crimes and firearms charges, after he killed 10 people and injured three others on May 14.
The federal indictment came down on Thursday, exactly two months after the brutal attack on Black people shopping at a supermarket. Authorities also accused the gunman of being a white supremacist due to the nature of his actions on that day.
Buffalo Shooter Indicted
The 19-year-old suspect, who was identified as Payton Gendron, has been indicted on 10 counts of hate crimes resulting in death, three counts of hate crimes involving an attempt to kill injured individuals, one count of hate crimes alleging that he tried to kill more Black people in and around the Tops supermarket, and 13 counts of using, carrying, or discharging a firearm in relation to the hate crimes.
In a statement, Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said that the Justice Department fully recognized the threat that white supremacist violence poses to the safety of the American people and American democracy, as per WIVB.
Prosecutors said that the suspect planned the attack for several months and was motivated by racist beliefs. FBI agents discovered a note at his home the day after the shooting in which he said he "had to commit this attack" because he cares "for the future of the White race."
Authorities said that the gun that Gendron allegedly used was a Bushmaster XM rifle that had racial slurs scribbled on it, as well as, "Here's your reparations!" and the names of other people who have committed mass shootings.
According to Fox News, the gunman also kept a diary where he wrote: "statements that his motivation for the attack was to prevent Black people from replacing white people and eliminating the white race and to inspire others to commit similar racially-motivated attacks."
Horrific Racist Attack
Garland added that authorities will continue to be relentless in their efforts to combat hate crimes in the country, support the communities terrorized by them, and hold accountable those who perpetrate them.
The attorney general will also determine at a later date whether or not to seek the death penalty for the Buffalo shooter. The defendant's attorneys have said in court that federal prosecutors told them it could take a year before the decision on the death penalty can be made.
At the time, the horrific attack became the latest mass shooting that was simultaneously broadcasted online because the gunman was live streaming his actions. Twitch, the Amazon-owned platform on which the video appeared, took the footage down in less than two minutes.
However, that short time frame was enough time for individuals to download and repost copies of the video footage. One of which was viewed more than three million times, after a link to the video on Facebook garnered more than 500 comments and 46,000 shares before it was removed.
The attack renewed criticism of tech platforms and urgent calls for scrutiny over the moderation of videos and messages that are posted online, as they can quickly spread to a wide audience and possibly fuel copycat attacks, ABC News reported.
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