Payton Gendron the eighteen year old responsible for the Buffalo massacre that saw ten people killed and three others injured is going to plead guilty to State charges. Now Payton Gendron is still facing Federal hate crime charges though if he is pleading guilty to State charges he will most likely do the same at the Federal levels. Payton Gendron who was charged with 10 counts of first-degree murder, 10 counts of second-degree murder as a hate crime and three counts of attempted murder as a hate crime. Payton Gendron who travelled to Buffalo New York to a predominantly black area would open fire at a grocery store killing ten people and injuring three more.
Payton Gendron More News
alleged mass shooter charged with killing 10 people in what prosecutors called a racially motivated attack at a Buffalo, New York, grocery store earlier this year is expected to plead guilty to state charges Monday, according to a victims’ attorney.
Payton Gendron is scheduled to appear in court at 9:30 a.m. ET, where he is expected to enter guilty pleas on all 25 counts in a state indictment, Terrence Connors, who represents the families of seven people who were killed in the shooting and two who were injured, told CNN earlier this month. The suspect previously pleaded not guilty.
The hearing was originally scheduled for last Monday but was postponed due to a snowstorm in the Buffalo area.
Payton Gendron is charged with 10 counts of first-degree murder, 10 counts of second-degree murder as a hate crime and three counts of attempted murder as a hate crime, according to the indictment. He also faces a domestic terror charge and a weapons charge, the indictment shows.
Investigators believe the suspected gunman targeted the victims, ages 20-86, based on race. Authorities have said he traveled from hours away to carry out the attack on May 14 at the Tops Friendly Markets, which is in a predominantly Black community. Eleven of the 13 people shot were Black and two were White, officials said.
If convicted on the state charges, Payton Gendron faces life in prison without parole, the only sentence for the domestic terror charge, Erie County District Attorney John Flynn said in June. To use this charge, prosecutors must prove five or more individuals were murdered with the intent of racial motivation, he added.
When reached by CNN earlier this month, the suspect’s attorney, Dan DuBois, was not permitted to comment because of a gag order in the case, he said. The Erie County District Attorney’s Office, which is prosecuting the case, is also under a gag order and declined to comment at the time.
“This is a remarkable group of families that I speak for,” Connors said when announcing the suspect’s plan to plead guilty. “The tragedy is still heavy in their hearts, but they’ve turned this nightmare into positive action. From their standpoint, he has become irrelevant to their lives. Their lives have become about making something positive from this horrible tragedy.”
The suspect also faces multiple federal hate crime charges, which carry the potential for the death penalty, in addition to several firearms charges.
Federal prosecutors argue the alleged gunman’s motive was to “prevent Black people from replacing white people and eliminating the white race, and to inspire others to commit similar attacks,” according to a criminal complaint.
Payton Gendron has pleaded not guilty to the federal charges.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said following the attack that the AR-15 style rifle used in the shooting was legally purchased in New York State, but was modified with a high-capacity magazine, which is not legal in the state.
Payton Gendron Pleads Guilty
The gunman who killed 10 people and wounded three in May in a racist attack at a grocery store in a predominantly Black neighborhood of Buffalo, New York, pleaded guilty Monday to state charges of domestic terrorism as a hate crime, murder and attempted murder.
Payton Gendron, a 19-year-old White man, pleaded guilty to one count of domestic act of terrorism motivated by hate, 10 counts of first-degree murder, three counts of attempted murder and a weapons possession charge in the mass shooting at Tops Friendly Markets on May 14. The charges come with a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the chance of parole.
Payton Gendron wore a red jumpsuit and had his hands cuffed in front of him in court Monday. He answered “yes” or “no” to several questions affirming he understood why he was pleading guilty and, on the individual counts, said the word “guilty.” He showed no emotion during the hearing.
The guilty plea ensures there will be no state trial and Gendron will not appeal, defense attorney Brian Parker said afterward.
“This critical step represents a condemnation of the racist ideology that fueled his horrific actions on May 14. Before he is sentenced to life without the possibility of parole on February 15, the surviving victims and deceased victims’ family members will all have a chance to address the court, the community and our client directly,” he said. “It is our hope that a final resolution of the state charges will help in some small way to keep the focus on the needs of the victims and the community.
Erie County District Attorney John Flynn described the attack as a racist hate crime and outlined the timeline of the mass killing.
“In just over two minutes the defendant, with the intent to murder as many African Americans as he could, killed 10 innocent Black people and attempted to kill three others,” Flynn said in a news conference after the hearing.
The guilty plea comes six months after Gendron used an illegally modified semiautomatic rifle to carry out the mass shooting. Flynn said he got a letter from the defense a few weeks ago saying the defendant was willing to plead guilty.
The victims, including customers, employees and an armed security guard, ranged in age from 20 to 86. Eleven of the 13 people shot were Black and two were White, officials said.
Social media posts and a lengthy document written by the gunman reveal he had been planning his attack for months and had visited the Tops supermarket several times previously. He posted that he chose Tops because it was in a particular ZIP code in Buffalo that had the highest percentage of Black people close enough to where he lived in Conklin, New York.
The document outlined his goals for the attack, according to Flynn: “To kill as many African Americans as possible, avoid dying and spread ideals.”
Payton Gendron also faces multiple federal hate crime charges, which carry the potential for the death penalty, in addition to several firearms charges. He has pleaded not guilty to the federal charges.
Flynn on Monday outside court laid out the evidence against Gendron, which was primarily based on surveillance video from the Tops supermarket and from a camera attached to Gendron’s helmet that was live-streaming the attack.
Payton Gendron arrived to the grocery store with a modified semiautomatic rifle and targeted people because they were Black, Flynn said. At one point, Gendron pointed his rifle at a White man but did not kill him and said “sorry” because the man was White, “thus further demonstrating the defendant’s racially motivated attack,” Flynn said.
Gendron shot four people outside the grocery store and nine more inside before surrendering to Buffalo Police officers who responded to the scene, according to the indictment.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said following the attack that the AR-15 style rifle used in the shooting was legally purchased in New York State, but was modified with a high-capacity magazine, which is not legal in the state.
The state charge of terrorism motivated by hate, passed in 2020, had never been used before in New York.
“No individual in the history of the state of New York has been found guilty of domestic terrorism charge motivated by hate until today,” he said.
He made the case that the gunman had not achieved his goals.
“This racist murderer did not fulfill what he set out to accomplish. He failed. He failed miserably because today this city, this community, is stronger and better than it ever was, and we have shown the world that racism has no part in our community.”
