New York shootings: A retired police officer was also among those killed inside the shop. (agent)
New York:
A heavily armed 18-year-old white gunman shot and killed 10 people Saturday in a “racially motivated” attack at a Buffalo, New York grocery store, which he live-streamed on camera, officials said.
Buffalo Police Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia told a news conference that the gunman, wearing a helmet and tactical gear, was arrested after the massacre.
Gramaglia raised the death toll to 10 and three were wounded. Police said most of the victims were black.
Gramaglia said the gunman first shot four people in the parking lot of a Topps supermarket, killing three of them, then went inside and continued firing.
Among those killed inside the store was a retired police officer working as an armed security guard.
The guard “engaged the suspect, fired several shots,” but the gunman – who was protected by body armor – shot him, Gramaglia said.
When police arrived, the shooter held the gun to his neck, but was talked about and eventually surrendered.
Stephen Belongia, Special Agent in charge of the FBI’s Buffalo Field Office, told a news conference that the shootings are being investigated as a hate crime.
“We are investigating this incident as a hate crime and a case of racially motivated violent extremism,” Belongia said.
Erie County Sheriff John Garcia described the attack as “pure evil.”
“It was a directly racially motivated hate crime as someone outside our community,” he said.
‘Very painful day’
District Attorney John Flynn of Erie County, where Buffalo is located, said the suspect would be charged with first-degree murder, which carries a life sentence without parole.
Mayor of Buffalo Byron Brown – which is located in western New York along the US border with Canada – said the shooter “traveled for hours outside of this community to commit this crime.”
“This is a day of great pain for our community,” Brown said.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said US President Joe Biden was briefed about the “horrific shooting”.
Jean-Pierre said, “Biden will continue to receive updates in the evening and tomorrow as further information develops. The President and First Lady are praying for those who are lost and for their loved ones.”
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, the senior US senator from New York, said in a tweet: “We stand with the people of Buffalo.”
New York Governor Cathy Hochul also tweeted that she was monitoring the situation, and asked people in Buffalo to “avoid the area and follow the guidance of law enforcement and local officials.”
Last month, a “sniper-type” shooter opened fire in an upscale Washington neighborhood, wounding four people and taking their own lives.
Police suspected that the graphic video of that shooting, which circulated online shortly after, was filmed by the shooter himself, but have not confirmed the authenticity or that it was live-streamed.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)