‘Racially motivated’ shooting: Ten killed at US grocery store
A heavily armed 18-year-old white man shot 10 people dead on Saturday at a Buffalo, New York grocery store in a "racially motivated" attack that he live-streamed on camera, authorities said.
The gunman, who was wearing body armor and a helmet, was arrested after the massacre, Buffalo Police Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia told a news conference.
Gramaglia put the toll at 10 dead and three wounded. Eleven of the victims were African Americans.
The gunman shot four people in the parking lot of the Tops supermarket, three of them fatally, then went inside and continued firing, Gramaglia said.
He added that when police arrived, the shooter put the gun to his neck, but was talked down and surrendered.
Stephen Belongia, special agent in charge of the FBI's Buffalo field office, told the news conference that the shooting is being investigated as a hate crime.
US media outlets have reported officials are investigating a detailed "manifesto" posted online before the shooting, in which the suspect outlines his plans and racial motivations for the attack. Quoting from the manifesto, the New York Times reported the suspect had been "inspired" by white supremacist acts of violence, including the massacre of 51 Muslims in Christchurch, New Zealand in March 2019.
District Attorney Flynn's office said in a tweet that the suspect -- identified as Payton Gendron of Conklin, New York -- had been arraigned on a charge of first-degree murder, which carries a sentence of life without parole. He is being held without bail.
The US suffered 19,350 firearm homicides in 2020, up nearly 35 percent compared to 2019, data showed.
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