Buffalo shooter Payton Gendron sentenced to life in prison for racist supermarket attack

BUFFALO, New York (AP) — The white supremacist who killed 10 blacks at a Buffalo supermarket was sentenced to life in prison without parole on Wednesday after he heard relatives of his victims express pain and rage at his racist attack.

Payton Gendron’s sentencing hearing was briefly interrupted when he was charged by a man in the hall, who was quickly captured. It resumed about 10 minutes later with more emotional testimonies from people who spoke of losing loved ones in the attack.

Peyton Gendron, whose hatred was fueled by racist conspiracy theories he encountered online, wept during some of the testimony and apologized to the victims in a brief statement. The judge issued separate life sentences without parole, one for each victim, which would run concurrently. She also denied granting Gendron juvenile delinquent status, which could give him a chance to re-enter society.

“There was nothing hasty or thoughtless in your behavior. There are no extenuating circumstances to consider,” Judge Susan Egan said.

Gendron pleaded guilty in November to crimes including murder and hate-motivated domestic terrorism, a charge that carries an automatic life sentence.

Gendron, 19, was wearing bulletproof armor and a helmet equipped with a live feed camera when he carried out the May 14 attack with a semi-automatic rifle he bought legally but then modified so he could load it with illegal high-capacity magazines.

Gendron also faces separate federal charges that could lead to the death penalty if the US Department of Justice decides to pursue it. His lawyer said in December that Gendron was willing to plead guilty in federal court as well to avoid execution.

Sentencing in the assault case, which was prompted by racist conspiracy theories he encountered online, resumed shortly after the breach that occurred when Barbara Massey Mupps convicted him of the murder of her 72-year-old sister Katherine Massey. While Mapps was yelling and pointing at Gendron, one of the spectators took a few steps towards him before being stopped.

“You have no idea what we are going through,” the man shouted as he was taken away by bailiffs. After that, for several minutes, family members hugged and comforted each other.

Egan then ordered Gendron to return and let the process resume, warning everyone to “behave properly”.

“I understand the emotion and I understand the anger, but we can’t have this in a courtroom,” she said.

The sentencing was a chance for loved ones of the victims, as well as for those injured in last spring’s attack, to vent their loss, pain and anger.

Some, like Massey Mapps, angrily denounced him; others quoted the Bible or said they were praying for him. He was condemned by some for deliberately attacking a black community away from his almost all-white hometown.

“You’ve been brainwashed,” said Wayne Jones Sr., the only child of victim Celestine Cheney, as sobs rose in the hall. “You don’t even know blacks well enough to hate them. You found out about it on the Internet and it was a big mistake.”

“I hope you find the strength to apologize to these people, man. You did wrong for no reason,” Jones said.

Kimberly Salter, widow of security guard Aaron Salter, explained that she and her family were dressed “in red for the blood he shed for his family and for his community, and in black because we still mourn.”

Christopher Braden, the Tops Friendly Market employee who was shot in the leg, said he was haunted by sightings of victims lying down as he was being carried out of the store.

“Visions haunt me in my sleep and every day,” he said.

At some point, Gendron himself began to cry.

Gendron, now 19, was wearing bulletproof armor and a helmet with a live feed camera when he carried out the May 14 attacks. He killed his victims with a semi-automatic rifle, purchased legally but then modified so that he could load it with high-capacity magazines, which are illegal in New York.

Only three survived after he shot 13 people, specifically looking for black buyers and workers.

His victims at Tops Market included a church deacon, a grocery store security guard, a local activist, a man who bought a birthday cake, a nine-year-old grandmother, and the mother of a former Buffalo fire commissioner. The age of the victims ranged from 32 to 86 years.

In documents posted online, Gendron said he hoped the attack would help keep whites in power in the US. Black area.

While Gendron is guaranteed a life sentence, he also faces separate federal charges that could lead to the death penalty if the US Department of Justice decides to pursue it. There is no death penalty in New York State.

Gendron’s guilty plea to the state’s charges is seen as a potential aid to avoid the death penalty at the punishment stage of any federal trial. At a December hearing, attorney Sonia Zoglin said Gendron was willing to plead guilty in federal court in exchange for a life sentence.

The mass shooting in Buffalo, and another less than two weeks later that killed 19 students and two teachers at an elementary school in Texas, fueled calls for stricter gun control, including from relatives of the victims who traveled to Washington. D.C. to testify before lawmakers.

New York City legislators quickly passed a law banning the sale of semi-automatic rifles to most people under the age of 21. The state has also banned the sale of certain types of body armor.

In June, President Joe Biden signed a compromise gun violence bill to tighten background checks, ban firearms for more domestic violence offenders, and help states enact red flag laws to make it easier for authorities to seize guns from people. recognized as dangerous.

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