Updated Jun 1, 2022 - Politics & Policy

Grand jury indicts Buffalo shooting suspect on terrorism charge

Jacob Knutson

People walk near the intersection of Jefferson Avenue and Riley Street attend a vigil across the street from Tops Friendly Market on May 17. — A vigil across the street from Tops Friendly Market in Buffalo, New York, on May 17. Photo: Kent Nishimura/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

A grand jury on Wednesday charged the 18-year-old accused of shooting and killing 10 people in a Buffalo, New York, supermarket with domestic terrorism motivated by hate and 10 counts of first-degree murder, AP reports.

Why it matters: The grand jury previously charged the suspected gunman with one count of first-degree murder but was continuing its investigation into the May 14 shooting, which is also being investigated by the FBI as a hate crime and a case of racially motivated violent extremism.

The suspect, Payton Gendron from Conklin, New York, is set to be arraigned in Erie County Court on Thursday, according to AP.
In total, the indictment contains 25 counts, including attempted murder as a hate crime.
Gendron previously pleaded not guilty to the single first-degree murder charge.

Police said Gendron drove more than 200 miles from Conklin to Buffalo a day before the shooting to "scope out" the grocery store and wore tactical gear, including a bulletproof vest, during the attack, which also injured three people.

Law enforcement confirmed that the suspect livestreamed the shooting on Twitch for about two minutes. Copies and screenshots were taken from the broadcast and were circulated online.
11 of the 13 total victims were Black and the semiautomatic rifle used in the attack had been inscribed with a racial epithet and the number 14, a white supremacist numeric symbol.
Investigators are in the process of validating whether Gendron posted an 180-page screed to the online forum 4chan before the shooting, which repeatedly cited the racist and anti-immigrant "white replacement theory" as motivation for the attack.

The big picture: The shooting in Buffalo came just days before another gunman killed 19 kids and two teachers inside an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, on May 24.

Both mass shooting events have intensified the debate on U.S. gun control legislation and renewed scrutiny on gun rights organizations and gun manufacturers.

Go deeper: House committee to hold emergency hearing on gun control bills

Editor's note: This story has been updated with additional details throughout.

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Grand jury indicts Buffalo shooting suspect on terrorism charge

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