Payton S. Gendron, 18, the alleged gunman who killed ten people last month at a Buffalo, New York supermarket, faces multiple federal hate crimes charges and could face the death penalty, according to the US Justice Department.
The suspect is charged with ten counts of hate crime causing death, three counts of a hate crime resulting in bodily injury, ten counts of use of a firearm to commit murder during and concerning a violent crime, and three counts of use and discharge of a firearm during a violent crime, per a criminal complaint reported by CNN.
According to the complaint filed by prosecutors in the US Attorney's Office for the Western District, "Gendron's motive for the mass shooting was to prevent Black people from replacing white people and eliminating the white race, and to inspire others to commit similar attacks."
Suspect Faces A Myriad of Charges
Gendron, a white man, is suspected of shooting 13 persons aged from 20 to 86 at the Tops Friendly Market. Buffalo police said 11 of the victims of the attack were black, and two were white.
Attorney General Merrick Garland noted that the US Department of Justice investigates the shooting "as a hate crime and an act of racially motivated violent extremism."
Gendron was indicted on 25 counts by a grand jury in New York on June 1. According to court documents, he is charged with ten counts of first-degree murder, ten counts of second-degree murder as a hate crime, and three counts of attempted murder as a hate crime.
Court records show that the suspect also faces charges of domestic terrorism and weapons possession. Gendron has pled not guilty to the charges.
Authorities Say It Was a Planned Attack
On the afternoon of May 14, the suspect arrived at the shop fully equipped and wearing tactical gear, including a tactical helmet and plated armor. He also had a camera that was continuously filming his actions, the police said.
Gendron turned himself in as he walked out of the supermarket, per The Guardian.
Authorities have previously stated that he meticulously planned the slaughter at the store, driving more than 200 miles from his home in Conklin, New York, and selecting the Buffalo East Side neighborhood because of its significant Black population, according to a New York Times report. He is also suspected of making a series of private posts on Discord, a messaging platform, detailing his plans, which he made public just before the attack, filled with racist rants.
According to officials engaged in the probe, prosecutors decided to pursue the charges shortly after the attack, but only after local prosecutors had disclosed their charges and the FBI had completed its investigation.
Ten days after the Buffalo massacre, another 18-year-old gunman with a semi-automatic rifle attacked an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, killing 19 children and two teachers.
Subsequently, New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed ten public safety legislations. The Los Angeles Times reported that the bills include one forbidding New Yorkers under 21 years old from purchasing semi-automatic rifles and another revising the state's "red flag" law, allowing courts to temporarily confiscate guns from people who may harm themselves or others.
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