Buffalo grocery store gunman indicted on terror, hate cost

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — The white man accused of killing 10 Black folks in a racist attack on a Buffalo grocery store was indicted by a grand jury Wednesday on a state domestic terrorism and hate crime charge that might carry a compulsory sentence of life in prison.

Payton Gendron is scheduled to be arraigned Thursday on the new, 25-count indictment, which builds on a earlier murder charge swiftly ready within the hours after the Could 14 shooting.

The 18-year-old has now additionally been charged with the attempted murders of three people who have been shot throughout the assault, however survived, and with using a weapon while committing a felony.

He has pleaded not guilty. Prosecutors had advised a judge Could 20 the grand jury had voted to indict Gendron however didn't disclose costs, saying proceedings have been ongoing.

Gendron’s legal professional, Brian Parker, stated he had not seen the indictment and couldn't comment, adding that prosecution and protection attorneys have been barred by a decide from discussing the case publicly.

The horrific nature of the crime and number of victims was likely to already assure a life sentence if Gendron is convicted. New York has no dying penalty. However including a state terrorism cost may carry further emotional resonance and assist authorities send a message about violent extremism.

The home terrorism charge — Domestic Acts of Terrorism Motivated by Hate in the First Degree — accuses Gendron of killing “due to the perceived race and/or shade” of his victims.

“This man was motivated by hate in opposition to folks he never met for no cause apart from the color of their skin,” stated Buffalo lawyer John Elmore, who represents the households of victims Katherine “Kat” Massey, 72, and Andre Mackniel, 53. Elmore mentioned he hoped for a conviction on every depend.

Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo proposed the domestic terrorism hate crime legislation in August 2019, in the wake of a mass shooting targeting Mexicans at a Walmart store in El Paso, Texas. The measure, dubbed the “Josef Neumann Hate Crimes Home Terrorism Act” after an assault at a rabbi’s residence in Munsey, New York, was signed into regulation on April 3, 2020, and took effect Nov. 1, 2020.

The regulation expanded on a earlier home terrorism statute passed after the 9/11 terrorist attack that was largely envisioned as a approach to go after international extremism.

Prosecutors mentioned Gendron drove about three hours to Buffalo from his dwelling in Conklin, New York, meaning to kill as many Black folks as doable. Shortly earlier than the attack he posted documents that outlined his white supremacist views and revealed he had been planning the attack for months.

The gunman, carrying an AR-15-style rifle he had recently purchased, opened fire on Saturday afternoon shoppers at a Tops grocery store in Buffalo.

Murder prices were filed for every of the victims, who ranged in age from 32 to 86 and included eight prospects, the shop safety guard and a church deacon who drove consumers to and from the store with their groceries.

The capturing, followed 10 days later by a mass taking pictures that killed 19 youngsters and two academics inside a Uvalde, Texas, elementary college, has renewed a national debate about gun management.

Mackniel was in the store to purchase a birthday cake for his 3-year-old. Massey was a group activist who had championed gun control and fought in opposition to racism, Elmore mentioned.

“To have her life taken away by a white supremacist extremist at the hands of a weapon of mass destruction is extremely upsetting to me,” he stated. He is part of a staff of attorneys exploring potential legal action against the manufacturers of the weapon and body armor used by the gunman, as well as social media platforms.

The assault was livestreamed from a helmet-mounted camera.

“One way or the other we’re going to seek out justice for the Massey household, for the Mackniel family and all those others that have been affected by this tragedy,” Elmore said.

Federal authorities also are investigating the possibility of hate crime prices in opposition to Gendron, who apparently detailed his plans and his racist motivation in a whole bunch of pages of writings he posted online shortly earlier than the shooting.

Amanda Drury, who lost her 32-year-old sister, Roberta Drury, said she is leaving it to the authorized system to say what prices are applicable within the case.

“I’m going to proceed with my trust in the justice system,” she said.

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Associated Press writers Michael Sisak and Jennifer Peltz contributed from New York.