“She was walking into the store. And then he shot another woman who was putting the market in her car. I bent down because I didn’t know if he was going to shoot me,” he added.
Gendron was subsequently presented in court where he pleaded not guilty. He was charged with first-degree murder, which could sentence him to life in prison, and was held without bail.
“There were bodies everywhere,” he told The New York Times Ken Stephens, a member of a local anti-violence group at the scene.
Jennifer Tookes, who was shopping at the store with her cousin when the shooting began, said in an interview with NBC News that her cousin had to hiding in the supermarket freezer until the shooting stopped.
Tookes said he saw three bodies lying outside the parking lot when he escaped.
“One was right next to the door. A man was by his car. And another girl was there too,” he said.
“This it’s the worst nightmare any community can face and we’re suffering, we’re furious right now,” Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown said.
He added that the suspect was not from the city and is believed to have driven for several hours to reach the predominantly black area of Buffalo.
“We are investigating this incident as a hate crime and a case of racially motivated violent extremism.Stephen Belongia, the special agent in charge of the FBI’s Buffalo office, said at the news conference.
Official voices indicated that in the shooting there was a component of ritual and premeditation that would be evidence of racial animosity.
Gendron, who is white, traveled more than 350 km to open fire in a majority black community. Of the 13 victims left by his attack, 11 were black people.
A police officer told CBS that the detained suspect allegedly yelled racial slurs while shooting.
Describing the aftermath of the attack, another police officer told Buffalo News“It’s like walking into a horror movie, but it’s all real. It’s like Armageddon.” New York Gov. Kathy Hochul described the incident as a “despicable act of violence” and said she would travel to Buffalo to help with the response. He referred to the crime as a “military-style operation” against civilians who were buying groceries.
U.S. President Joe Biden was briefed on the shooting. “The president and first lady are praying for those who have been lost and for their loved ones,” a White House statement said.
“Hate should have no safe harbor. We must do everything in our power to end domestic terrorism fueled by hatred,” he said.
According to the AFP news agency, when asked by the Twitch platform if the shooter broadcast the murders, a spokesperson for the service said that “the user has been suspended indefinitely from our service” and that they are “taking all appropriate measures, including monitoring any account that retransmits this content.”
According to recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released by AFP, in the U.S. there were 19,350 gun homicides in 2020, nearly 35% more than in 2019.
Despite recurring mass shootings and a national wave of gun violence, multiple initiatives to reform gun regulations have failed in the U.S. Congress, leaving states and local councils to enact their own restrictions.
