BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — The white gunman who massacred 10 black shoppers and workers at a Buffalo supermarket pleaded guilty Monday to murder and hate terrorism charges, guaranteeing that he will spend the rest of his life in prison.
Payton Gendron, 19, entered the plea Monday in court about two miles from the grocery store where he used a semi-automatic rifle and body armor to carry out a racist assault he hoped would help preserve white supremacy in the USA
Gendron, who was handcuffed and wearing an orange jumpsuit, occasionally licked and pursed his lips as he pleaded guilty to all the most serious charges in the grand jury indictment, including murder, hate crime murder and domestic hate-motivated terrorism, which carries an automatic sentence of life in prison without parole.
He answered “yes” and “guilty” as Judge Susan Eagan referred to each victim by name and asked if he killed them because of their race. Gendron also pleaded guilty to wounding three people who survived May’s attack.
Many of those victims’ relatives sat and watched, some rubbed their eyes and sniffed. Speaking to reporters later, several said the plea left them cold. It didn’t address the bigger problem, which they said is racism in America.
“His voice made me feel sick, but it proved me right,” said Zeneta Everhart, whose 20-year-old son was shot in the neck but survived. “This country has a problem. This country is inherently violent. It’s racist. And his voice showed me that.”
After the roughly 45-minute proceeding ended, Gendron’s attorneys suggested he now repented of his crimes, but did not elaborate or answer questions.
“This critical step represents a condemnation of the racist ideology that fueled his horrific actions on May 14,” said Gendron’s attorney, Brian Parker. “We hope that a final resolution of the state charges will go some way to keeping the focus on the needs of the victims and the community.”
Gendron’s parents, in their first public statement, said the guilty plea ensures their son is held accountable. Paul and Pamela Gendron said they are “praying for the healing of all those affected.” They thanked the law enforcement authorities who investigated the case, adding that they “will continue to provide all the help we can.”
“We are shocked and heartbroken to learn that our son was responsible for the horrific attack at the Tops grocery store on May 14, 2022,” said the emailed statement, which his attorney provided in The Associated Press.
Gendron has pleaded not guilty to separate federal hate crime charges that could result in a death sentence if convicted. The U.S. Department of Justice has not said whether it will seek the death penalty. The guilty plea and claim of remorse could help Gendron in a penalty phase of a death penalty trial.
The petition comes at a time when many Americans have become almost desensitized to mass shootings. In recent weeks, there have been deadly attacks at a Walmart in Virginia, at a gay club in Colorado and at the University of Virginia.
Just days after Gendron’s attack in Buffalo, a gunman killed 19 children and two teachers at a school in Uvalde, Texas.
Gendron wore body armor and used a legally purchased AR-15-style rifle in his attack at Buffalo’s Tops Friendly Market. Those killed ranged in age from 32 to 86 and include an armed security guard who died trying to protect customers, a church deacon and the mother of a former Buffalo fire marshal. Gendron surrendered when police confronted him as he was leaving the store.
Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown, who was in the courtroom for Gendron’s guilty plea, told reporters afterward that “it was important to hear why these precious lives were taken from us for no other reason than color of his skin”.
The mayor, a Democrat, called for a ban on assault weapons, as did Police Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia. Victims’ families reiterated their calls to Congress and the FBI to address white supremacy and gun violence. “We’re literally asking those in power to do something about it,” said Garnell Whitfield, whose mother, Ruth Whitfield, 86, was killed.
White supremacy was Gendron’s motive. He said in documents posted online just before the attack that he had chosen the store, about a three-hour drive from his home in Conklin, New York, because it was in a predominantly black neighborhood. He said he was motivated by a belief in a massive conspiracy to dilute white power by “replacing” them in America with people of color.
“Swift justice,” is how Erie County District Attorney John Flynn described Monday’s outcome, noting it’s the first time anyone in New York state has been convicted on a terrorism charge motivated by hate. His sentence is scheduled for February 15.
Attorney Benjamin Crump, who represents several of the victims’ families, said they remain baffled that the gunman survived. They want a harsh punishment, she said: “We want him to be treated like the heinous, vicious cold-blooded killer that he was to kill all these innocent black people. It’s emotional and we’re angry.”
Mark Talley, the son of slain Geraldine Talley, asked authorities to jail him in Erie County, the same community where he caused so much pain, so he could face the same horror they experienced their victims. “I want this pain to eat at him every second of every day for the rest of his life,” Talley said.
Talley and Everhart said they were offended by Gendron’s tone and clean-shaven appearance in court. They said a black defendant would have been treated differently. Gendron is a “thug,” they said.
“We show them in a way that doesn’t threaten them, and it’s disgusting,” Everhart said.
“Am I happy he’s going to prison for life?” Talley said. “What would make me happy is if America recognized its history of racism.”
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