Buffalo Grocery Store Shooter Pleads Guilty

Payton Gendron, the white 19-year-old who drove over 200 miles to carry out a deadly mass shooting at a Buffalo grocery store in a predominantly Black neighborhood, pleaded guilty today to state charges including one count of domestic terrorism motivated by hate. Eleven of the 13 people he shot that day were Black. From Axios:

Payton Gendron, 19, faces a mandatory life sentence for perpetrating what the FBI has called a case of racially motivated violent extremism.

The 25-count state court indictment included 10 first-degree murder charges and three counts of attempted murder as a hate crime.

The domestic terrorism count carries life without parole — no maximum or minimum.

The Associated Press reports Gendron showed scant remorse during the 45-minute proceeding today. He answered “yes” and “guilty” as the judge referred to each victim by name and asked whether he killed each victim because of their race. Read the full report here. Sentencing for Gendron is scheduled for February 15, but that won’t be the end of his troubles. In addition to these state charges, he also faces 27 federal charges – 14 hate crime charges and 13 firearms charges. https://youtu.be/YEsUb3WTZ3U