Ten people were killed and three were wounded in a mass shooting in a Buffalo, New York, supermarket on Saturday, May 14. Eleven of the thirteen individuals shot were Black.
The shooter, an 18-year-old white male, appears to have posted a 180-page document online before committing the act, citing the racist ‘Great Replacement’ conspiracy theory as a reason for the attack. The document also contained antisemitic and racist memes and detailed plans of the attack he was about to commit.
It appears the gunman specifically targeted the Tops Friendly Markets store due to its location in a predominately Black zip code, according to the document allegedly posted by the shooter.
The attack was briefly live-streamed on Twitch before being shut down by the platform. The document, allegedly written by the shooter, also references using a private Discord—an online voice and text chat service—server to plan the shooting. Twitch said it took less than two minutes to remove the stream, in a statement to CNN. Discord offered condolences to the victims and pledged to assist law enforcement in the investigation.
The suspect had previously undergone a mental health evaluation after making a threat toward his high school.
Attorney General Merrick Garland said that “the Justice Department is investigating this matter as a hate crime and an act of racially-motivated violent extremism” and “is committed to conducting a thorough and expeditious investigation into this shooting and to seeking justice for these innocent victims,” in a statement released shortly after the shooting.
State and federal authorities are collaborating on the investigation, and the perpetrator has the potential to face federal hate crimes charges, in addition to the first-degree murder charges that he has already plead not guilty to. “There are warrants that will continue to be obtained, both on the state and the federal levels. We will be looking at extensive digital platforms, computers, phones, cameras and anything else that comes into play in this investigation,” said Buffalo Police Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia. The Erie County District Attorney’s office says that the shooter could potentially face domestic terrorism charges.
University of Denver Chancellor Jeremy Haefner condemned the racist attack in an email sent out Monday, May 16, saying that “targeted acts such as these undoubtedly instill the daily existence of Black people with fear and anxiety, often invisibly impacting generations and taking an incredible toll on mental, physical and spiritual health.”
“We call on the entire DU community to support our Black community members by taking stock of each of our spheres of influence and not letting yet another incident like this pass without moving for progress,” he went on to say, in addition to calling for faculty and staff to allow for extra time on coursework and other responsibilities for those affected.
Authorities identified the victims on Sunday, May 15.
Ruth Whitfield, 86 years old
Pearl Young, 77 years old
Katherine Massey, 72 years old
Heyward Patterson, 67 years old
Celestine Chaney, 65 years old
Geraldine Talley, 62 years old
Aaron Salter, 55 years old
Andre Mackniel, 53 years old
Margus D. Morrison, 52 years old
Roberta A. Drury, 32 years old
Zaire Goodman, 20 years old, treated and released from hospital
Jennifer Warrington, 50 years old, treated and released from hospital
Christopher Braden, 55 years old, non-life-threatening injuries
GoFundMe assembled a list of verified fundraisers for the victims and their families.
