BUFFALO, N.Y. — The 18-year-old gunman who authorities say killed 10 people at a Buffalo supermarket had previously threatened a shooting at his high school and was sent for mental health treatment, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press.
It wasn’t immediately clear why Gendron had traveled about 200 miles from Conklin, New York, to Buffalo and that particular grocery store, but investigators believe Gendron had specifically researched the demographics of the population around the Tops Friendly Markey and had been searching for communities with a high number of African American residents, the official said. The market is located in a predominantly Black neighborhood.
Among the dead was security guard Aaron Salter — a retired Buffalo police officer — who fired multiple shots at Gendron, Buffalo Police Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia said Saturday. A bullet hit the gunman’s armor, but had no effect. Gendron then killed Salter, before hunting more victims. “My mother had just gone to see my father, as she does every day, in the nursing home and stopped at the Tops to buy just a few groceries. And nobody has heard from her,” Whitfield told the mayor then. She was confirmed as a victim later in the day, Brown said.Katherine Massey, who had gone to the store to pick up some groceries, also was killed, according to the Buffalo News.“This was pure evil,” Garcia said.
Give us a follow for news on spying & terrorism. We tweet daily. BFBT_ PeopleWatching