On May 14, 2022, a
mass shooting
There is a lack of consensus on how to define a mass shooting. Most terms define a minimum of three or four victims of gun violence (not including the shooter or in an inner city) in a short period of time, although an Australian study from 20 ...
occurred in
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from South ...
, United States, at a
Tops Friendly Markets
Tops Friendly Markets is an American supermarket chain based in Amherst, New York, that operates stores in Upstate New York, Vermont, and Northern Pennsylvania. The chain operates full-scale supermarkets. Tops is a subsidiary of Northeast Groc ...
supermarket in the
East Side neighborhood. Ten people, all of whom were Black, were murdered and three were injured.
The shooter, identified as 18-year-old Payton S. Gendron,
livestreamed part of the attack on
Twitch
Twitch may refer to:
Biology
* Muscle contraction
** Convulsion, rapid and repeated muscle contraction and relaxation
** Fasciculation, a small, local, involuntary muscle contraction
** Myoclonic twitch, a jerk usually caused by sudden muscle co ...
, but the livestream was shut down by the service in under two minutes. Gendron was taken into custody and charged with first-degree murder. He formally entered a
plea
In legal terms, a plea is simply an answer to a claim made by someone in a criminal case under common law using the adversarial system. Colloquially, a plea has come to mean the assertion by a defendant at arraignment, or otherwise in response ...
of "
not guilty" on May 19, 2022.
[ On November 28, 2022, Gendron pleaded guilty to all state charges in the shooting, including ]murder
Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person wit ...
, terrorism
Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...
, and hate crimes.
Gendron is reported to have written a manifesto
A manifesto is a published declaration of the intentions, motives, or views of the issuer, be it an individual, group, political party or government. A manifesto usually accepts a previously published opinion or public consensus or promotes a ...
, describing himself as an ethno-nationalist
Ethnic nationalism, also known as ethnonationalism, is a form of nationalism wherein the nation and nationality are defined in terms of ethnicity, with emphasis on an ethnocentric (and in some cases an ethnocratic) approach to various politi ...
and a supporter of white supremacy
White supremacy or white supremacism is the belief that white people are superior to those of other races and thus should dominate them. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any power and privilege held by white people. White su ...
who is motivated to commit acts of political violence
Political violence is violence which is perpetrated in order to achieve political goals. It can include violence which is used by a state against other states (war), violence which is used by a state against civilians and non-state actors (forced ...
. He voiced support for the far-right
Far-right politics, also referred to as the extreme right or right-wing extremism, are political beliefs and actions further to the right of the left–right political spectrum than the standard political right, particularly in terms of being ...
"Great Replacement
The Great Replacement (french: links=no, Grand Remplacement), also known as replacement theory or great replacement theory, is a White nationalism, white nationalist Far-right politics, far-right conspiracy theoryPT71 disseminated by French a ...
" conspiracy theory
A conspiracy theory is an explanation for an event or situation that invokes a conspiracy by sinister and powerful groups, often political in motivation, when other explanations are more probable.Additional sources:
*
*
*
* The term has a nega ...
in the context of a "white genocide
The white genocide, white extinction, or white replacement conspiracy theory is a white supremacist conspiracy theory which states that there is a deliberate plot, often blamed on Jews, to promote miscegenation, interracial marriage, mass non ...
". The attack has been described as an act of domestic terrorism
Domestic terrorism or homegrown terrorism is a form of terrorism in which victims "within a country are targeted by a perpetrator with the same citizenship" as the victims.Gary M. Jackson, ''Predicting Malicious Behavior: Tools and Techniques ...
, and it is also being investigated as a hate crime
A hate crime (also known as a bias-motivated crime or bias crime) is a prejudice-motivated crime which occurs when a perpetrator targets a victim because of their membership (or perceived membership) of a certain social group or racial demograph ...
which was motivated by racism
Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism ...
. Governor Kathy Hochul
Kathleen Hochul ( ; née Courtney; born August 27, 1958) is an American politician serving as the 57th governor of New York since August 24, 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, she is New York's first female governor, as well as the first ...
promised policy changes in the state as a result of the attack, while condemning the shooter.
Shooting
At around 2:30p.m. EDT ( UTC−04:00), Gendron arrived at the Tops
Total Operations Processing System (TOPS) is a computer system for managing railway locomotives and rolling stock, known for many years of use in the United Kingdom.
TOPS was originally developed between the Southern Pacific Railroad (SP), S ...
supermarket on Jefferson Avenue, in a predominantly Black neighborhood in Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from South ...
. He was armed with a Bushmaster XM-15 AR-15 style rifle
An AR-15-style rifle is any lightweight semi-automatic rifle based on the Colt AR-15 design. The original ArmaLite AR-15 is a scaled-down derivative of Eugene Stoner's ArmaLite AR-10 design. The then Fairchild Engine and Airplane Corporation d ...
, modified to accept high-capacity magazine
A high-capacity magazine (or large-capacity magazine) is a magazine capable of holding more than the usual number of rounds of ammunition for a particular firearm.
A magazine may also be defined as high-capacity in a legal sense, based on the nu ...
s,[ and multiple 30-round ammunition magazines.][ In his car, he had a ]Savage Arms
Savage Arms is an American gunmaker based in Westfield, Massachusetts, with operations in Canada. Savage makes a variety of rimfire and centerfire rifles, as well as Stevens single-shot rifles and shotguns. The company is best known for the ...
Axis XP hunting rifle and a Mossberg 500
The Mossberg 500 (M500) is a series of pump action shotguns manufactured by O.F. Mossberg & Sons. The 500 series comprises widely varying models of hammerless repeaters, all of which share the same basic receiver and action, but differ in bore ...
shotgun. He was wearing body armor
Body armor, also known as body armour, personal armor or armour, or a suit or coat of armor, is protective clothing designed to absorb or deflect physical attacks. Historically used to protect military personnel, today it is also used by variou ...
, a military helmet, and a head-mounted camera, through which he livestreamed
Livestreaming is streaming media simultaneously recorded and broadcast in real-time over the internet. It is often referred to simply as streaming. Non-live media such as video-on-demand, vlogs, and YouTube videos are technically streamed, but no ...
the attack on the online service Twitch
Twitch may refer to:
Biology
* Muscle contraction
** Convulsion, rapid and repeated muscle contraction and relaxation
** Fasciculation, a small, local, involuntary muscle contraction
** Myoclonic twitch, a jerk usually caused by sudden muscle co ...
. As he approached the scene, he was recorded on his livestream saying "just got to go for it". At 2:31p.m., Buffalo police received a call reporting shots fired at the store. The first responding officers and firefighters arrived a minute later and reported bodies lying outside the building. At 2:34p.m., a dispatcher
A dispatcher is a communications worker who receives and transmits information to coordinate operations of other personnel and vehicles carrying out a service. A number of organizations, including police and fire departments, emergency medical ...
started informing responding officers of an active shooter
Active shooter or active killer describes the perpetrator of a type of mass murder marked by rapidity, scale, randomness, and often suicide. The United States Department of Homeland Security defines an ''active shooter'' as "an individual acti ...
situation at the store.
Gendron shot four people in the parking lot, killing three. He then entered the store, shooting eight more people and killing six. According to a law enforcement source, he yelled racial slurs
The following is a list of ethnic slurs or ethnophaulisms or ethnic epithets that are, or have been, used as insinuations or allegations about members of a given ethnicity or racial group or to refer to them in a derogatory, pejorative, or ot ...
during the incident. Many employees and customers used the store's break room to hide from the shooter and barricaded the door with a heavy desk. Other customers were hidden by employees in the milk cooler and said the shooter shot through the coolers but the milk cartons stopped the bullets. At some point, an armed security guard, former Buffalo Police Department officer Aaron Salter Jr., shot at him. Due to the shooter's body armor, Salter's bullet did not stop him. Gendron returned fire at Salter, who died at the scene. At another point, he aimed his gun at a white person behind a checkout counter but apologized and did not shoot.
By 2:36p.m., Gendron had gone to the front of the building, where patrol officers were able to talk him into dropping his gun after he reportedly aimed it at his neck. A total of sixty shots were fired during the shooting. After his arrest, he made disturbing statements regarding his motive
Motive(s) or The Motive(s) may refer to:
* Motive (law)
Film and television
* ''Motives'' (film), a 2004 thriller
* ''The Motive'' (film), 2017
* ''Motive'' (TV series), a 2013 Canadian TV series
* ''The Motive'' (TV series), a 2020 Israeli T ...
and state of mind.
Victims
Thirteen people—eleven of them Black and two White—were shot, ten fatally. One of them, 55-year-old Aaron Salter Jr., was a former Buffalo Police lieutenant who was working as a security guard when he confronted the shooter. In addition to Salter, the people fatally shot were Celestine Chaney, 65; Roberta A. Drury, 32; Andre Mackniel, 53; Katherine Massey, 72; Margus D. Morrison, 52; Heyward Patterson, 67; Geraldine Talley, 62; Ruth Whitfield, 86; and Pearl Young, 77.
Four victims were employees of the store including Salter, who died; the other three survived. All ten who died were Black.
Aftermath
Dozens of residents held a vigil at the supermarket the day after the shooting. True Bethel Baptist Church held a mourning service nearby, which was attended by families of the victims and some of those who survived the attack. A moment of silence was held at game one of the 2022 National Lacrosse League playoffs eastern semifinals being held in Buffalo, between the Toronto Rock
The Toronto Rock are a professional box lacrosse franchise based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the North Division of the National Lacrosse League (NLL). The team was the first Canadian franchise in the NLL. Oakville resident ...
and Buffalo Bandits
The Buffalo Bandits are a professional box lacrosse
Box lacrosse, also known as boxla, box, or indoor lacrosse, is an indoor version of lacrosse played mostly in North America. The game originated in Canada in the 1930s, where it is more po ...
, and the proceeds of the 50/50 raffle were donated to the victims' families. Bandits head coach John Tavares told the media after his team's victory that the athletes played "definitely with a heavy heart" given the circumstances. A charity softball
Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hanc ...
game at Sahlen Field
Sahlen Field is a baseball park in Buffalo, New York, United States. Originally known as Pilot Field, the venue has since been named Downtown Ballpark, North AmeriCare Park, Dunn Tire Park, and Coca-Cola Field. Home to the Buffalo Bisons of the ...
featuring members of the Buffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...
held a moment of silence prior to the event and donated a portion of the proceeds to victims' families.
The Tops' closure after the shooting slowed food access in the East Side, where it was the only supermarket since it opened in 2003. Organizations inside and outside the community started programs to fill its absence, distributing and delivering food and clothing to residents. Tops is providing free shuttle service to another location and pledged to send refrigerated food trucks daily. The company later stated that it would reopen the store on July 15, with a memorial honoring the victims.
Investigation
Erie County Sheriff John Garcia said the shooting was a "straight up racially motivated hate crime
A hate crime (also known as a bias-motivated crime or bias crime) is a prejudice-motivated crime which occurs when a perpetrator targets a victim because of their membership (or perceived membership) of a certain social group or racial demograph ...
from somebody outside of our community". Stephen Belongia, the head of the local FBI
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and its principal Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement age ...
office, told reporters that the agency is investigating the shooting as both a hate crime and an act of racially motivated violent extremism. Police arrested the shooter and transported him to Buffalo Police Headquarters, with police reporting him to be in custody by about 2:36p.m. The shooter's parents have cooperated with investigators and were interviewed by federal agents.
According to the Buffalo police commissioner, they uncovered information that if he escaped the supermarket, he had plans to continue his attack. The county's district attorney
In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a l ...
said he had evidence that Gendron was motivated by racial animosity. According to law enforcement sources who spoke to ''The Buffalo News
''The Buffalo News'' is the daily newspaper of the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area, located in downtown Buffalo, New York. It recently sold its headquarters to Uniland Development Corp. It was for decades the only paper fully owned by W ...
'', they were investigating Gendron's alleged contact with a number of people online, including a retired federal agent, and whether these individuals had thirty minutes of advance notice of the attack yet did not notify the authorities.
A separate investigation in connection to the shooting began on May 15, into the conduct of a 911
911 or 9/11 may refer to:
Dates
* AD 911
* 911 BC
* September 11
** 9/11, the September 11 attacks of 2001
** 11 de Septiembre, Chilean coup d'état in 1973 that outed the democratically elected Salvador Allende
* November 9
Numbers
* 91 ...
operator. An assistant manager at the Tops store reportedly called 911 and whispered to avoid detection by the shooter. The employee was then reportedly shouted at by the dispatcher who wondered why the woman was whispering and then allegedly hung up on the employee. The Office of the Erie County Executive announced the dispatcher was placed on administrative leave, and was fired after a disciplinary hearing.
Perpetrator
The gunman, identified in court as Payton S. Gendron (born June 20, 2003), is a white man, 18 years old at the time of the crime. He had traveled to the supermarket from his hometown of Conklin, New York
Conklin is a town in Broome County, New York, United States. Per the 2020 census, the population was 5,008.
The town is on the south border of the county, southeast of Binghamton.
History
The area was first settled around 1788. The Town of C ...
for three and a half hours,[ about away.] Gendron graduated from Susquehanna Valley High School
Susquehanna Valley High School is a public high school located in Conklin, New York. It is part of the Susquehanna Valley Central School District, which encompasses residents of the municipalities of Binghamton, Conklin, Kirkwood, and parts of ...
, and was previously enrolled at SUNY Broome Community College
SUNY Broome Community College (SUNY Broome) is a public community college in Broome County, New York. It is part of the State University of New York (SUNY). The college was founded in 1946 and has gone through several name changes. The school i ...
in Binghamton
Binghamton () is a city in the U.S. state of New York, and serves as the county seat of Broome County. Surrounded by rolling hills, it lies in the state's Southern Tier region near the Pennsylvania border, in a bowl-shaped valley at the conflue ...
for an engineering science
Engineering physics, or engineering science, refers to the study of the combined disciplines of physics, mathematics, chemistry, biology, and engineering, particularly computer, nuclear, electrical, electronic, aerospace, materials or mechanical en ...
program. His parents are civil engineer
A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing ...
s; he previously stated his intention to become one as well, according to his neighbors. Classmates who were interviewed by ''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' said that he was quiet and rarely attended in-person classes, and he exhibited a range of idiosyncratic
An idiosyncrasy is an unusual feature of a person (though there are also other uses, see below). It can also mean an odd habit. The term is often used to express eccentricity or peculiarity. A synonym may be "quirk".
Etymology
The term "idiosyncr ...
behavior, and he also wore a hazmat suit
A hazmat suit (hazardous materials suit) is a piece of personal protective equipment that consists of an impermeable whole-body garment worn as protection against hazardous materials. Such suits are often combined with self-contained breathing ...
to class.
The police said that Gendron had been in Buffalo in early March. They also said that he was there a day before the shooting and he had carried out reconnaissance at the Tops supermarket. According to police, he had researched previous hate-motivated attacks and shootings. According to a childhood friend, Gendron came to his house the day before the shooting and left him with five boxes of ammunition. He said that he needed space to rearrange his house and he would retrieve the ammunition later.
Investigation of previous threat
In June 2021, Gendron had been investigated for threatening other students at his high school by the police in Broome County. A teacher had asked him about his plans after the school year, and he responded, "I want to murder and commit suicide." He was referred to a hospital for mental health evaluation and counseling but was released after being held for a day and a half.
Gendron told the police that he was joking; he would later write online about how it was a well-executed bluff. He was not charged in connection with the incident; investigators said that he had not made a specific enough threat to warrant further action. The New York State Police
The New York State Police (NYSP) is the state police of the state of New York in the United States. It is part of the New York State Executive Department, and employs over 5,000 sworn state troopers and 711 civilian members.
History
The State ...
did not seek an order from a state court to remove guns from Gendron's possession. The mental health evaluation was not an involuntary commitment
Involuntary commitment, civil commitment, or involuntary hospitalization/hospitalisation is a legal process through which an individual who is deemed by a qualified agent to have symptoms of severe mental disorder is detained in a psychiatric hos ...
, which would have prohibited him from buying guns under federal law.
Weapons
Gendron cleared the background check
A background check is a process a person or company uses to verify that an individual is who they claim to be, and this provides an opportunity to check and confirm the validity of someone's criminal record, education, employment history, and oth ...
by filling in Form 4473
A Firearms Transaction Record, or ATF Form 4473, is a six-page form prescribed by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) required to be completed when a person proposes to purchase a firearm from a Federal Firearms License ...
, as is typically required under U.S. federal law
The law of the United States comprises many levels of codified and uncodified forms of law, of which the most important is the nation's Constitution, which prescribes the foundation of the federal government of the United States, as well as va ...
. During the purchase of the Bushmaster XM-15 AR-15 style rifle
An AR-15-style rifle is any lightweight semi-automatic rifle based on the Colt AR-15 design. The original ArmaLite AR-15 is a scaled-down derivative of Eugene Stoner's ArmaLite AR-10 design. The then Fairchild Engine and Airplane Corporation d ...
used in the shooting, the seller said that Gendron passed the background check and that he did not remember Gendron. He cleared another check while purchasing a shotgun, later recovered by police from Gendron's automobile, at a store in the neighboring town of Great Bend, Pennsylvania
Great Bend is a borough in Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania, United States, north of Scranton. According to 2020 Census data, Great Bend's population was 634, down 13.6% from 2010. Great Bend sits along the Susquehanna River, less than two mile ...
, located away from his Conklin house, saying that he would use it for target practice. Gendron crossed state lines from his home in New York to Pennsylvania to purchase a 30-round ammunition magazine, illegal in New York state.
Before the shooting, Gendron wrote that he had purchased a rifle and illegally modified it in order to enable it to hold magazines
A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combination ...
which were capable of holding up to thirty rounds, which are illegal in New York state, where the limit is ten rounds. Gendron wrote that he selected an AR-15 style rifle
An AR-15-style rifle is any lightweight semi-automatic rifle based on the Colt AR-15 design. The original ArmaLite AR-15 is a scaled-down derivative of Eugene Stoner's ArmaLite AR-10 design. The then Fairchild Engine and Airplane Corporation d ...
for its effectiveness, and specifically selected the Bushmaster XM-15 for its notoriety. On his rifle, he had reportedly written the word ''nigger
In the English language, the word ''nigger'' is an ethnic slur used against black people, especially African Americans. Starting in the late 1990s, references to ''nigger'' have been progressively replaced by the euphemism , notably in cases ...
'' and referenced reparations
Reparation(s) may refer to:
Christianity
* Restitution (theology), the Christian doctrine calling for reparation
* Acts of reparation, prayers for repairing the damages of sin
History
*War reparations
**World War I reparations, made from G ...
, along with the names of white supremacist mass murderers Dylann Roof
Dylann Storm Roof (born April 3, 1994) is an American white supremacist, neo-Nazi, and mass murderer convicted of perpetrating the Charleston church shooting on June 17, 2015, in the U.S. state of South Carolina. During a Bible study at Ema ...
, Robert Bowers, Brenton Tarrant
On 15 March 2019, two consecutive mass shootings occurred in a terrorist attack on two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand. The attacks, carried out by a lone gunman who entered both mosques during Friday prayer, began at the Al Noor Mosque ...
, and John Earnest
The Poway synagogue shooting occurred on April 27, 2019, at Chabad of Poway synagogue in Poway, California, United States, a city approximately north of San Diego, on the last day of the Jewish Passover holiday, which fell on a Shabbat. Arm ...
, the acronym SYGAOWN (Stop Your Genocide Against Our White Nations), far-right slang "Buck status: broken", the year 2083, a reference to the manifesto of Anders Behring Breivik
Fjotolf Hansen (born 13 February 1979), better known by his birth name Anders Behring Breivik () and by his pseudonym Andrew Berwick, is a Norwegian far-right domestic terrorist, known for committing the 2011 Norway attacks on 22 July 2011. On ...
and the Archangel Michael's Cross of the fascist Romanian Iron Guard
The Iron Guard ( ro, Garda de Fier) was a Romanian militant revolutionary nationalism, revolutionary Fascism, fascist Political movement, movement and political party founded in 1927 by Corneliu Zelea Codreanu as the Legion of the Archangel Mic ...
. A law enforcement source told ''The Daily Beast
''The Daily Beast'' is an American news website focused on politics, media, and pop culture. It was founded in 2008.
It has been characterized as a "high-end tabloid" by Noah Shachtman, the site's editor-in-chief from 2018 to 2021. In a 20 ...
'' he had also written on his rifle names of one or more victims of the Waukesha Christmas parade attack
On November 21, 2021, Darrell E. Brooks Jr. drove a sport utility vehicle (SUV) through the annual Christmas parade in Waukesha, Wisconsin, United States, killing six people and injuring sixty-two others.
Brooks pleaded not guilty to six coun ...
. On the weapons in his car which had not been used during the shooting, he reportedly had written "White Lives Matter
White Lives Matter (WLM) is a neo-Nazi slogan that began to be used in 2015 in a response to the Black Lives Matter (BLM) social justice movement. It seeks to address racism against White people, and purported claims of white genocide. The Aryan ...
" and "what appears to be the name of a victim of a crime committed by a black suspect" according to CNN.
Manifesto
Gendron is reported to have written a 180-page manifesto
A manifesto is a published declaration of the intentions, motives, or views of the issuer, be it an individual, group, political party or government. A manifesto usually accepts a previously published opinion or public consensus or promotes a ...
which he released prior to the shooting, primarily concerning the topic of mass immigration
Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...
. The manifesto was originally posted on Google Docs
Google Docs is an online word processor included as part of the free, web-based Google Docs Editors suite offered by Google, which also includes: Google Sheets, Google Slides, Google Drawings, Google Forms, Google Sites and Google Keep. Google Do ...
on the evening of May 12, two days before the attack, and according to file data, it had not been modified since. Federal law enforcement sources told CNN that they were reviewing the document, as well as his 673-page online diary. The manifesto includes biographical information, including a birth date, which is identical to that of Gendron.
The author describes himself as someone who initially identified himself as being on the "authoritarian
Authoritarianism is a political system characterized by the rejection of political plurality, the use of strong central power to preserve the political ''status quo'', and reductions in the rule of law, separation of powers, and democratic votin ...
left", before he developed American neo-Nazi, antisemitic
Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism.
Antis ...
, eco-fascist, ethno-nationalist
Ethnic nationalism, also known as ethnonationalism, is a form of nationalism wherein the nation and nationality are defined in terms of ethnicity, with emphasis on an ethnocentric (and in some cases an ethnocratic) approach to various politi ...
, populist
Populism refers to a range of political stances that emphasize the idea of "the people" and often juxtapose this group against " the elite". It is frequently associated with anti-establishment and anti-political sentiment. The term develop ...
, and white supremacist
White supremacy or white supremacism is the belief that white people are superior to those of other Race (human classification), races and thus should dominate them. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any Power (social and polit ...
views. He claims to have adopted these ideological stances after he visited the discussion board /pol/
/pol/, short for "Politically Incorrect", is an anonymous political discussion imageboard on 4chan. As of 2022, it is the most active board on the site. It has had a substantial impact on Internet culture while acting as a platform for far-r ...
on 4chan, an imageboard
An imageboard is a type of Internet forum that focuses on the posting of images, often alongside text and discussion. The first imageboards were created in Japan as an extension of the textboard concept. These sites later inspired the creation of ...
, as well as the website ''The Daily Stormer
''The Daily Stormer'' is an American far-right, neo-Nazi, white supremacist, misogynist, Islamophobic, antisemitic, and Holocaust denial commentary and message board website that advocates for a second genocide of Jews. It is part of the alt ...
'' beginning in May 2020, on which he saw "infographic
Infographics (a clipped compound of "information" and "graphics") are graphic visual representations of information, data, or knowledge intended to present information quickly and clearly.Doug Newsom and Jim Haynes (2004). ''Public Relations Wr ...
s, shitposts
In Internet culture, shitposting, trashposting, or funposting is the act of using an online forum or social media page to post content that is satirical and of "aggressively, ironically, and trollishly poor quality", an online analog of trash t ...
, and memes" at around the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
The COVID-19 pandemic in the United States is a part of the COVID-19 pandemic, worldwide pandemic of COVID-19, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by SARS-CoV-2, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). In the Uni ...
. The manifesto primarily promotes the white nationalist
White nationalism is a type of racial nationalism or pan-nationalism which espouses the belief that white people are a raceHeidi Beirich and Kevin Hicks. "Chapter 7: White nationalism in America". In Perry, Barbara. ''Hate Crimes''. Greenwoo ...
and far-right
Far-right politics, also referred to as the extreme right or right-wing extremism, are political beliefs and actions further to the right of the left–right political spectrum than the standard political right, particularly in terms of being ...
"Great Replacement
The Great Replacement (french: links=no, Grand Remplacement), also known as replacement theory or great replacement theory, is a White nationalism, white nationalist Far-right politics, far-right conspiracy theoryPT71 disseminated by French a ...
" conspiracy theory of Renaud Camus
Renaud Camus (; ; born Jean Renaud Gabriel Camus on 10 August 1946) is a French novelist, Conspiracy theory, conspiracy theorist and White nationalism, white nationalist writer. He is the inventor of the "Great Replacement", a Far-right politic ...
, which claims that elites are promoting immigration
Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...
and decreasing white birth rate
The birth rate for a given period is the total number of live human births per 1,000 population divided by the length of the period in years. The number of live births is normally taken from a universal registration system for births; populati ...
s in an attempt to subject whites
White is a racialized classification of people and a skin color specifier, generally used for people of European origin, although the definition can vary depending on context, nationality, and point of view.
Description of populations as " ...
to a genocide
Genocide is the intentional destruction of a people—usually defined as an ethnic, national, racial, or religious group—in whole or in part. Raphael Lemkin coined the term in 1944, combining the Greek word (, "race, people") with the Latin ...
. The manifesto also says that Jews
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
and the elites are responsible for transgender
A transgender (often abbreviated as trans) person is someone whose gender identity or gender expression does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Many transgender people experience dysphoria, which they seek to alleviate through tr ...
inclusivity and non-white immigration, that Black people
Black is a racialized classification of people, usually a political and skin color-based category for specific populations with a mid to dark brown complexion. Not all people considered "black" have dark skin; in certain countries, often in s ...
disproportionately kill white people, and that non-whites will overwhelm and wipe out the white race.
The author also expressed support for far-right mass shooters Dylann Roof
Dylann Storm Roof (born April 3, 1994) is an American white supremacist, neo-Nazi, and mass murderer convicted of perpetrating the Charleston church shooting on June 17, 2015, in the U.S. state of South Carolina. During a Bible study at Ema ...
, Anders Behring Breivik
Fjotolf Hansen (born 13 February 1979), better known by his birth name Anders Behring Breivik () and by his pseudonym Andrew Berwick, is a Norwegian far-right domestic terrorist, known for committing the 2011 Norway attacks on 22 July 2011. On ...
, and Brenton Tarrant
On 15 March 2019, two consecutive mass shootings occurred in a terrorist attack on two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand. The attacks, carried out by a lone gunman who entered both mosques during Friday prayer, began at the Al Noor Mosque ...
. About 28 percent of the document is plagiarized from other sources, especially Tarrant's manifesto. As much as 57% of the text-based ideological sections were plagiarized in this manner; this was measured by excluding the sections which consisted of Internet meme
An Internet meme, commonly known simply as a meme ( ), is an idea, behavior, style, or image that is spread via the Internet, often through social media platforms. What is considered a meme may vary across different communities on the Internet ...
images, other pictures taken from online, and logistical discussion about the equipment for the attack.
The planning for the attack commenced in January 2022, and Buffalo was targeted because it was the city with the most Black residents that was closest to the author's home. He then proceeded to select the ZIP code area within Buffalo with the highest percentage of Black residents. The manifesto includes extensive details about preparations made for the shooting, along with a plan to travel to a majority-Black neighborhood in Buffalo, after the supermarket attack, to conduct further attacks. It characterizes the attack as having been "intended to terrorize all nonwhite, non-Christian people and get them to leave the country".
Activity on chat logs
Gendron is also reported to have had an account on the chat platform Discord
Discord is a VoIP and instant messaging social platform. Users have the ability to communicate with voice calls, video calls, text messaging, media and files in private chats or as part of communities called "servers".The developer documenta ...
, with the same username as the Twitch user who livestreamed the attack. Thousands of chat logs were retrieved from the account's postings in a private chatroom, which were written in the form of an online diary and range from November 2021 to May 13, 2022. The logs include photos of Gendron, and the author claimed to be Gendron. Police said that they believe the messages are genuine. The chat logs reference a speeding ticket that is consistent with one received by the accused. They also include to-do list items in preparation for the attack. The chat logs indicated the attack was originally planned for March 15, for the anniversary of the Christchurch mosque shootings
On 15 March 2019, two consecutive mass shootings occurred in a terrorist attack on two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand. The attacks, carried out by a lone gunman who entered both mosques during Friday prayer, began at the Al Noor Mosque ...
. However, this was delayed due to the author developing a case of COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...
. The logs contained indications from as early as November 2021 that he planned to livestream a mass shooting targeting Black people. He claimed authorship of a post on 4chan from November 9, 2021, that said, "a will happen again soon".
The online diary also had sketches of the layout of the inside of the Tops supermarket. The diary mentions visits to the supermarket on March 8. During these visits, he notes being challenged by the security guard, calling it a close call. He also noted the numbers of Black people and white people in the supermarket during his visits. The author considered an attack in various locations, including a Walmart
Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores from the United States, headquarter ...
in Rochester, New York
Rochester () is a City (New York), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, the county seat, seat of Monroe County, New York, Monroe County, and the fourth-most populous in the state after New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffalo, ...
, before finally deciding to target the Tops supermarket in Buffalo instead. Other locations which he considered targets included churches, malls, and elementary schools with mostly Black attendees. He also considered attacking synagogue
A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of worshi ...
s but decided against it because March 15 was not on a Saturday (the Jewish sabbath
Shabbat (, , or ; he, שַׁבָּת, Šabbāṯ, , ) or the Sabbath (), also called Shabbos (, ) by Ashkenazim, is Judaism's day of rest on the seventh day of the week—i.e., Saturday. On this day, religious Jews remember the biblical storie ...
). He wrote that he used data available through Google to determine the busiest times in the supermarket.
The author of the online diary described himself as being socially isolated. He said, "I would like to say I had quite a normal childhood (<18) but that is not the case." He also said, "It's not that I actually dislike other people, it's just that they make me feel so uncomfortable I've probably spent actual years of my life just being online. And to be honest I regret it. I didn't go to friend's houses often or go to any parties or whatever. Every day after school I would just go home and play games and watch YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
, mostly by ." In another entry, he added: "If I could go back maybe I'd tell myself to get the fuck off 4chan... and get an actual life." At one point in the chat logs, the author describes killing and mutilating a cat. The chat logs include occasional suicidal ideation and self-doubt from the author.
In a post dated December 9, 2021, he described staying in the emergency room of a hospital for 20 hours on May 28, 2021, as a result of stating his intention to commit murder–suicide
A murder-suicide is an act in which an individual kills one or more persons either before or while killing themselves. The combination of murder and suicide can take various forms:
* Murder linked with suicide of a person with a homicidal idea ...
in an online assignment for his economics class. He described the hospital stay as a very negative experience that encouraged him to take action. In other entries, he posted photos of modifications he made to his rifle so that it could be equipped with 30-round magazines, while acknowledging that this was illegal in New York. He also posted details about obtaining other equipment for a planned attack, such as body armor and a helmet.
About 30 minutes before the shooting began, invitations to the chatroom that hosted the online diary logs were sent to a small group of other Discord users. At least fifteen other users joined the chatroom after that point, who would have been able to view the chat logs. According to a Discord spokesperson, they found no indication that any other users were aware of the diary before that time. He also sent links to the Twitch livestream that would show the attack. According to the message attached to the invite, Discord users could also view a livestream through the Discord chatroom, as opposed to the Twitch livestream. The chatroom was disabled when Discord learned about its alleged relationship to the shooting.
Other than the online diary, chat logs were also retrieved from a second chatroom on Discord, which was dedicated to discussing weapons. There, the user reported to have been Gendron sought advice regarding equipment such as body armor. Prior to the shooting, the livestream footage quickly leaked to multiple forms of social media, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Reddit.
Legal proceedings
Gendron was arraigned
Arraignment is a formal reading of a criminal charging document in the presence of the defendant, to inform them of the charges against them. In response to arraignment, the accused is expected to enter a plea. Acceptable pleas vary among jurisdi ...
in the Buffalo City Court, which is a New York State Court. Represented by a public defender, he entered a not guilty plea
In legal terms, a plea is simply an answer to a claim made by someone in a criminal case under common law using the adversarial system. Colloquially, a plea has come to mean the assertion by a defendant at arraignment, or otherwise in respons ...
to multiple charges of first-degree murder
Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification or valid excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person without justification or excuse, especially the c ...
. A felony
A felony is traditionally considered a crime of high seriousness, whereas a misdemeanor is regarded as less serious. The term "felony" originated from English common law (from the French medieval word "félonie") to describe an offense that resu ...
hearing was scheduled to begin on May 19 in front of a grand jury
A grand jury is a jury—a group of citizens—empowered by law to conduct legal proceedings, investigate potential criminal conduct, and determine whether criminal charges should be brought. A grand jury may subpoena physical evidence or a pe ...
. He is currently being held without bail
Bail is a set of pre-trial restrictions that are imposed on a suspect to ensure that they will not hamper the judicial process. Bail is the conditional release of a defendant with the promise to appear in court when required.
In some countries ...
under suicide watch. On the same day, the Attorney General of the United States Merrick Garland
Merrick Brian Garland (born November 13, 1952) is an American lawyer and jurist serving since March 2021 as the 86th United States attorney general. He previously served as a U.S. circuit judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of ...
confirmed that the United States Department of Justice
The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United State ...
was investigating the shooting as a hate crime
A hate crime (also known as a bias-motivated crime or bias crime) is a prejudice-motivated crime which occurs when a perpetrator targets a victim because of their membership (or perceived membership) of a certain social group or racial demograph ...
and an act of racially-motivated violent extremism.
On May 19, it was announced that he was indicted on the charge of first-degree murder by a grand jury, in a decision that had been handed up the day prior. Gendron briefly appeared in court on May 19. On June 1, a grand jury issued a 25-count indictment against Gendron. The jury charged him with "one count of domestic terrorism motivated by hate", as well as "10 counts of first-degree murder as a hate crime, 10 counts of second-degree murder as a hate crime, three counts of attempted second-degree murder as a hate crime and one count of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon", according to ''The Washington Post''. Gendron was arraigned in Erie County Court on June 2, 2022, and pled not guilty to all 25 charges.
On June 3, 2022, a filing made on behalf of one of the survivors from the attack sought a court order for the preservation of a number of items in the possession of Gendron's parents. The filing sought to preserve, among other things, any of his available cellphones, computers (and web browsing history
Web browsing history refers to the list of web pages a user has visited, as well as associated metadata such as page title and time of visit. It is usually stored locally by web browsers in order to provide the user with a history list to go back ...
), travel and school records, video game consoles, and receipts for firearms and ammunition. Additionally, the filing requested that his parents be made to provide pretrial depositions in court by July 29.
On June 15, Gendron was charged with 26 counts of federal hate crimes and also additional gun charges. Should he be convicted of any of the more serious federal hate crimes, he faces the possibility of the death penalty. If the death penalty is applied, it would only be carried out by the federal government. On November 17, Gendron agreed to plead guilty to all state charges. On November 28 he pled guilty to fifteen state-level counts; ten counts of first-degree murder, three counts of attempted murder motivated by hate, criminal weapons possession and domestic terrorism motivated by hate.
Reactions
National
President Joe Biden offered his prayers for the victims and their families; he called the shooting a racially motivated hate crime, an act of domestic terrorism
Domestic terrorism or homegrown terrorism is a form of terrorism in which victims "within a country are targeted by a perpetrator with the same citizenship" as the victims.Gary M. Jackson, ''Predicting Malicious Behavior: Tools and Techniques ...
, and went on to call white supremacy a "poison... running through our body politic". The Erie County Sheriff's Office tweeted their condolences to all of the victims and their families and offered resources and personnel to assist the officers.
Twitch confirmed that its service was used to broadcast the shooting. It said that the account that posted the livestream had been indefinitely suspended and that any attempts to re-stream the footage would be monitored and prohibited. The shooter's livestream was removed less than two minutes after the violence started according to a spokesperson; it was unclear if he was still actively firing at the time. The livestream was recorded by at least one individual and posted to the site Streamable, where it had acquired more than 3 million views by May 15. The spread of the video on other sites has led to discussions about social media sites' liability, responses to similar content, and free speech on the sites.
American publications widely condemned the conspiracy theories
A conspiracy theory is an explanation for an event or situation that invokes a conspiracy by sinister and powerful groups, often political in motivation, when other explanations are more probable.Additional sources:
*
*
*
* The term has a nega ...
—including the notion of a "white genocide
The white genocide, white extinction, or white replacement conspiracy theory is a white supremacist conspiracy theory which states that there is a deliberate plot, often blamed on Jews, to promote miscegenation, interracial marriage, mass non ...
" supposedly occurring in the U.S.—advocated by the assailant. ''The Daily Beast
''The Daily Beast'' is an American news website focused on politics, media, and pop culture. It was founded in 2008.
It has been characterized as a "high-end tabloid" by Noah Shachtman, the site's editor-in-chief from 2018 to 2021. In a 20 ...
'' journalist Andy Craig has argued that beliefs "centered around the claim that there is a deliberate plot to commit to genocide against white Americans—using non-white immigration as its supposed primary means" created a "noxious brew of ideas" that animated the killer, recommending that all supporters of freedom of speech
Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The right to freedom of expression has been recogni ...
as an ideal
Ideal may refer to:
Philosophy
* Ideal (ethics), values that one actively pursues as goals
* Platonic ideal, a philosophical idea of trueness of form, associated with Plato
Mathematics
* Ideal (ring theory), special subsets of a ring considere ...
condemn such extremist thinking. The shooter's claim of a "Great Replacement
The Great Replacement (french: links=no, Grand Remplacement), also known as replacement theory or great replacement theory, is a White nationalism, white nationalist Far-right politics, far-right conspiracy theoryPT71 disseminated by French a ...
" has drawn increased scrutiny of Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
political and media figures who have made statements embracing or echoing the conspiracy, most prominently Fox News
The Fox News Channel, abbreviated FNC, commonly known as Fox News, and stylized in all caps, is an American multinational conservative cable news television channel based in New York City. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is owne ...
commentator Tucker Carlson
Tucker Swanson McNear Carlson (born May 16, 1969) is an American television host, conservative political commentator and writer who has hosted the nightly political talk show '' Tucker Carlson Tonight'' on Fox News since 2016.
Carlson began ...
. ''National Review
''National Review'' is an American conservative editorial magazine, focusing on news and commentary pieces on political, social, and cultural affairs. The magazine was founded by the author William F. Buckley Jr. in 1955. Its editor-in-chief i ...
'', a conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...
news magazine, criticized this scrutiny of Carlson, with columnist Dan McLaughlin saying: "He never mentioned Tucker Carlson, and eexpressed his hatred for Fox News n the manifesto" In response, Carlson said that the suspect's manifesto was "not recognizably left-wing
Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...
or right-wing
Right-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position on the basis of natural law, economics, authorit ...
; it's not really political at all. The document is crazy." House Republican Conference
The House Republican Conference is the party caucus for Republicans in the United States House of Representatives. It hosts meetings and is the primary forum for communicating the party's message to members. The Conference produces a daily pub ...
chair Elise Stefanik
Elise Marie Stefanik (; born July 2, 1984) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for since 2015. As chair of the House Republican Conference since 2021, she is the third-ranking House Republican. Stefanik's district cover ...
, the third highest-ranking Republican in the U.S. House
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...
, also had attention drawn to her hardline views in the conspiracy theory
A conspiracy theory is an explanation for an event or situation that invokes a conspiracy by sinister and powerful groups, often political in motivation, when other explanations are more probable.Additional sources:
*
*
*
* The term has a nega ...
that the Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to:
*Democratic Party (United States)
Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to:
Active parties Africa
*Botswana Democratic Party
*Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea
*Gabonese Democratic Party
*Demo ...
is trying to replace or overwhelm Republican voters with immigrants, using an open-door immigration policy in order to win elections.[
Footage from the Buffalo shooting was reportedly included on a violence-glorifying website created by the 2022 Colorado Springs shooting’s suspect. ]
Legislative
The proposed Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act, which would have established domestic terrorism offices in the DOJ and FBI focused on neo-Nazis and white supremacy, passed the House on May 18 but failed in the Senate on May 26. Republicans argued that the measure duplicated already existing efforts by American law enforcement while also risking targeting individuals unfairly as political extremists. Democrats noted the tough polarization in Congress while arguing that the Republicans failed to compromise on pragmatic changes to fight gun deaths.
On June 7, 2022, the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary
The United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, informally the Senate Judiciary Committee, is a standing committee of 22 U.S. senators whose role is to oversee the Department of Justice (DOJ), consider executive and judicial nominations, a ...
held hearings to examine "the 'Metastasizing' Domestic Terrorism Threat After the Buffalo Attack." The Committee heard testimony from the son of rampage victim Ruth Whitfield, former commissioner of the Buffalo Fire Department Garnell Whitfield, Jr., who asked the committee, "to imagine the faces of your mothers as you look at the face of my mother, Mrs. Ruth Whitfield… and ask yourself… is there nothing we can do? Is there nothing that you personally are willing to do to stop the cancer of white supremacy and the domestic terrorism it inspires?".
Local
New York Governor
The governor of New York is the head of government of the U.S. state of New York. The governor is the head of the executive branch of New York's state government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor ha ...
Kathy Hochul
Kathleen Hochul ( ; née Courtney; born August 27, 1958) is an American politician serving as the 57th governor of New York since August 24, 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, she is New York's first female governor, as well as the first ...
traveled to Buffalo to assist with the response. Governor Hochul said "we'll be aggressive in our pursuit of anyone who subscribes to the ideals professed by other white supremacists and how there's a feeding frenzy on social media platforms where hate festers more hate." Hochal called for stronger federal gun violence prevention legislation, saying "What has made this so lethal, and so devastating for this community, was the high-capacity magazine
A high-capacity magazine (or large-capacity magazine) is a magazine capable of holding more than the usual number of rounds of ammunition for a particular firearm.
A magazine may also be defined as high-capacity in a legal sense, based on the nu ...
that would have had to have been purchased elsewhere, that’s not legal in the state of New York."[
The attorney for one of the victims' families, ]Benjamin Crump
Benjamin Lloyd Crump (born October 10, 1969) is an American attorney who specializes in civil rights and catastrophic personal injury cases such as wrongful death lawsuits. His practice has focused on cases such as Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, ...
, has argued that public policy changes need to take place to fight political extremist activism as a result of the shooting. He remarked, "We have to direct our attention to these internet sites that inspire these young people that are radicalizing them to be hate-mongers, to be people who hate people because the color of their skin."
The New York State Education Department announced that it was cancelling the U.S. Government and History Regents Exam because it contained a question that the department determined might be upsetting to students in the aftermath of the shooting. The state did not specify what the question said or why it may have been objectionable. Canisius College, a local university that Aaron Salter Jr. had previously attended, posthumously awarded him a bachelor's degree during their 2022 graduation ceremony.
International
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau
Justin Pierre James Trudeau ( , ; born December 25, 1971) is a Canadian politician who is the 23rd and current prime minister of Canada. He has served as the prime minister of Canada since 2015 and as the leader of the Liberal Party since 2 ...
condemned the attack. Buffalo is on the Canadian border
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
and is adjacent to Fort Erie, Ontario. Jim Diodati
James ( Jim Diodati ) is a Canadian politician, currently serving as mayor of Niagara Falls, Ontario.
He was first elected in the 2010 municipal election, defeating incumbent mayor Ted Salci. Prior to his election to the mayoralty, Diodati se ...
, the mayor of Niagara Falls, Ontario
Niagara Falls is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is on the western bank of the Niagara River in the Golden Horseshoe region of Southern Ontario, with a population of 88,071 at the 2016 census. It is part of the St. Catharines - Niagara Census M ...
, called Buffalo mayor Byron Brown
Byron William Brown II (born September 24, 1958) is an American politician who is the current mayor of Buffalo, New York. He has served as Buffalo's 62nd mayor since January 2006, the City's first African-American mayor and longest serving ...
to express his solidarity with Buffalo. Flags in Niagara Falls
Niagara Falls () is a group of three waterfalls at the southern end of Niagara Gorge, spanning the border between the province of Ontario in Canada and the state of New York in the United States. The largest of the three is Horseshoe Falls, ...
were lowered at half-mast
Half-mast or half-staff (American English) refers to a flag flying below the summit of a ship mast, a pole on land, or a pole on a building. In many countries this is seen as a symbol of respect, mourning, distress, or, in some cases, a salu ...
in honor of the victims.
See also
* 2019 El Paso shooting, a similar attack which targeted Hispanics
The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad.
The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties former ...
* 2020–2022 United States racial unrest
* 2021 Boulder shooting, a similar attack which targeted a grocery store
* Racism against African Americans
In the context of racism in the United States, racism against African Americans dates back to the colonial era, and it continues to be a persistent issue in American society in the 21st century.
From the arrival of the first Africans in early ...
* Timeline of terrorist attacks in the United States
This is a timeline of terrorist attacks in the United States throughout history.
Attacks by date 1776–99
1800–99
1900–59
1960–69
1970–79
1980–89
1990–99
2000–09
2010–19
2020–present
References
{{reflist
...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Buffalo shooting, 2022
2022 active shooter incidents in the United States
2022 in New York (state)
2022 mass shootings in the United States
2020s crimes in New York (state)
2022
File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...
African-American history in Buffalo, New York
Attacks on buildings and structures in 2022
Attacks on buildings and structures in New York (state)
Attacks on shops in North America
Attacks on supermarkets
Filmed killings
Livestreamed crimes
Mass shootings in New York (state)
Mass shootings in the United States
May 2022 crimes in the United States
Racially motivated violence against African Americans
White genocide conspiracy theory
White nationalist terrorism