Payton Gendron: Grand Jury Charges Buffalo Massacre Killer With 14 Hate Crimes

A federal grand jury on Thursday indicted the person responsible for the massacre perpetrated in a supermarket in the American city of Buffalo (New York) on May 14 of 14 hate crimes and 13 related to the use and possession of weapons, the Department of Justice announced.

Payton Gendron, 17, killed 10 black people and wounded 3 others and, the indictment alleges, willfully took their lives “because of their race and color.”

“The Department of Justice fully recognizes the threat that white supremacist violence poses to the safety of the American people and American democracy.”said the attorney general of the United States Merrick Garland quoted in a statement.

The Prosecutor’s Office emphasizes that in case of being found guilty, the defendant could be sentenced to life in prison or the death penaltyalthough he specified that the attorney general will decide later if he requests the execution of Gendron if found guilty by a jury.

Garland has publicly shown its reservations about the death penalty and last year declared a moratorium on executions in cases tried by federal courts.

The grand jury is part of the American judicial system and its purpose is to determine if there is enough evidence to charge someone with a crime.

The Federal Prosecutor’s Office presented on June 15 the accusations that were supported today by this body.

The indictment also states that Gendron carried out “substantial and premeditated planning to commit an act of terrorism.”

“We will continue to be relentless in our efforts to combat hate crimes, support the communities terrorized by them, and hold accountable those who perpetrate them.”settled the prosecutor.

According to the authorities, the young man traveled several hours to reach the Tops supermarket in Buffalo and when he got out of his vehicle “He was very heavily armed with tactical gear.”

He was also wearing a military helmet and a camera that was broadcasting what he was doing live on the Twitch platform, which belongs to Amazon.

In the parking lot of the shopping center he shot four people, of whom three died, and then entered the premises, where he continued shooting, until finally killing ten people.

This is one of a series of violent incidents involving firearms that have occurred in New York and that have claimed several lives, and it was followed by another massacre in Uvalde, Texas, where 19 children and 2 teachers were killed by gunshots. a young man.