Authorities say a gunman opened fire with a rifle at a supermarket in Buffalo and that officials are investigating it as a “hate crime and racially motivated violent extremism.” Law enforcement officials told Associated Press 10 people were killed in the shooting Saturday afternoon and three others were wounded before the suspect , identified him as 18-year old Payton Gendron of Conklin, New York, was arrested. The officials were not permitted to speak publicly on the matter and did so on the condition of anonymity. Authorities said 11 of the victims are Black and two are white. The shooting happened in a predominantly Black neighborhood a few miles north of downtown Buffalo. New York Governor Kathy Hochul was in Buffalo late Saturday
"This is my community. I know this community well, I've walked these streets. I know the individuals who live here. It's a wonderful tight knit neighborhood. And to see that sense of security shattered by an individual, a white supremacist who has engaged in an act of terrorism and will be prosecuted as such - it strikes us in our very hearts to know that there is such evil that lurks out there," said Hochul.
A law enforcement official told The Associated Press that Gendron had threatened to carry out a shooting at Susquehanna High School around the time of last year's graduation. New York State Police said troopers were called to the Conklin school on June 8, 2021, for a report that a 17-year-old student had made threatening statements. Police said the student was taken into custody under a state mental health law and taken to a hospital for an evaluation.
On Sunday, Governor Kathy Hochul told NPR her administration is looking into loopholes in New York state gun laws. Hochul said she would make an announcement on the matter Tuesday.
Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont released a statement regarding the mass shooting:
“Another day in America yields another episode of senseless violence and death at the hands of a deranged gunman. But what makes this mass shooting much worse is the hate at the heart of it.
Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan also released a statement, saying in part "It is up to each of us to stand up and say no more."