Ten people are dead and a suspect is in custody after a gunman with a rifle and body armour opened fire at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York on 14 May, believed to be one of the deadliest racist massacres in recent American history, and the deadliest mass shooting in the US in 2022.
The shooting took place at Tops Friendly Market in the 1200 block of Jefferson Avenue in the state’s second-largest city, in a predominantly Black neighbourhood that authorities believe the suspect had specifically targeted. Thirteen people in total were shot. Among the victims, 11 were Black.
Close-up shots from a video of Saturday’s attack, which police say was filmed by the gunman himself, show the N-word and the number 14 — a known white supremacist code — written on the barrel of the gun in white paint.
A “manifesto” has been found online, connected to the 18-year-old suspect Payton Gendron, that references racist and white nationalist tropes and far-right conspiracy theories.
President Joe Biden arrived in Buffalo on Tuesday to “grieve” with the community and delivered remarks where he called Saturday’s attack “straightforward terrorism”.
“Hate will not prevail, white supremacy will not have the last word,” he said during a speech at a Buffalo community centre.