Payton Gendron update: Buffalo mass shooting suspect charged with federal hate crimes

The US Justice Department announced on Wednesday that the professed mass shooter, Payton Gendron, faces multiple federal hate crime charges, some of which carry the possibility of the death penalty, in the killing of ten black individuals last month at a Buffalo supermarket in New York.

Attorney General Merrick Garland visited the site of the shooting and conferred with the victims' families when the accusations against the white suspect, Payton Gendron, were issued.

Garland was astounded by Payton’s motive behind killing black civilians. He said in a statement after meeting with the captives’ family members,

“No one in this country should have to live in fear that they will go to work or shop at the grocery store and will be attacked by someone who hates them because of the colour of their skin.”

According to a criminal complaint filed by prosecutors in the US Attorney’s office for the Western District of New York, Gendron's motive behind the mass shooting was to prevent black people from replacing and eradicating white people. He allegedly wanted to inspire others to carry out similar attacks. Payton Gendron allegedly devised elaborate plans for the assault.

The May 14 attack at Tops Friendly Market, in a primarily black area of Buffalo, was allegedly motivated by racist hatred, according to Buffalo authorities. The attack was allegedly live-streamed by the suspect. Three people were injured in addition to the 10 civilians who were killed. According to officials, 11 of the 13 victims who were shot were black.

The criminal complaint stated,

“The 18-year-old suspect faces 10 counts of a hate crime resulting in death, three counts of hate crime causing physical injury, ten counts of using a firearm to comurderuring and inabout violent crime, and three counts of using and brandishing a firearm during a violent crime.”

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The complaint says Payton Gendron has planned ‘black attack’ for years

Buffalo authorities discovered a laptop with a document containing a detailed plan for the massacre, which the gunman had allegedly been planning for years during a search of his home. According to the lawsuit, he "actually got serious" about the assault earlier this year in January.

In the document, Payton Gendron avowed himself as a white man, and wrote,

“Seeking to protect and serve my community, my people, my culture, and my race.”

He alleged in the document that he has never been afflicted with any type of mental illness. He indicated that his goal was to kill "as many black people as possible" while still avoiding death.

Payton Gendron apologized to his family in a handwritten note recovered in his bedroom by agents, saying he did it because he cared "for the future of the white race," according to the lawsuit. Agents also uncovered a receipt for a candy bar purchased at Tops on March 8 in his bedroom, along with purported sketches of the store's layout.

Reportedly, he visited the store for two and a half hours before he began shooting. A complaint registered by the DOJ revealed,

“He counted the number of Black people present inside and outside the store. He observed a healthy number of old and young black people. Employees took shelter in a stock room, a conference room, a freezer and a dairy cooler, while others fled through a rear door.”

Payton Gendron allegedly unleashed about 60 shots during the attack.