The sentence comes without the possibility of parole for Payton Gendron who was 18 when he opened fire at a Top’s Market in Buffalo, NY on May 14, 2022.
BUFFALO, NY – AP (WBAP/KLIF) – The now 19-year old Payton Gendron, a self-professed white supremacist is set to be sentenced to life in prison today for killing 10 Black people at a Buffalo supermarket last year in an attack fueled by racist conspiracy theories he encountered online.
In November Gendron pleaded guilty to charges including murder and domestic terrorism motivated by hate for the May 14, 2022 massacre. The terrorism charge carries an automatic life sentence.
Relatives of several victims are expected to speak during the hearing, giving them an opportunity to address the judge and the killer responsible for their sorrow.
At one point, chaos erupted in the courtroom as a man rushed to Gendron as he sat with his lawyers.
Gendron wore bullet-resistant armor and a helmet equipped with a livestreaming camera as he carried out the May 14 attack. He killed his victims with a semiautomatic rifle, purchased legally but then modified so he could load it with high-capacity ammunition magazines that are illegal in New York.
There were only three survivors after he shot 13 people, specifically seeking out Black shoppers and workers.
His victims at Tops Friendly Market included a church deacon, the grocery store’s guard, a neighborhood activist, a man shopping for a birthday cake, a grandmother of nine and the mother of a former Buffalo fire commissioner. The victims ranged in age from 32 to 86.
In documents posted online, Gendron said he hoped the attack would help preserve white power in the U.S. He wrote that he picked the Tops grocery store, about a three-hour drive from his home in Conklin, New York, because it was in a predominantly Black neighborhood.
While a life prison sentence is guaranteed for Gendron, he also faces separate federal charges that could carry a death sentence if the U.S. Justice Department chooses to seek
(Associated Press)
