FILE - Payton Gendron is led into the courtroom for a hearing at Erie County Court in Buffalo, N.Y., on May 19, 2022. Gendron, a white gunman who targeted a Buffalo supermarket in a predominantly Black neighborhood, plans to plead guilty on Monday, Nov. 28, to killing 10 people and wounding three others, according to lawyers representing victims’ relatives. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)
Buffalo Supermarket Shooting
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — The white gunman who massacred 10 Black people at a Buffalo supermarket has pleaded guilty to murder and hate-motivated terrorism charges. Payton Gendron’s plea means he’ll spend his life in prison without parole. The 19-year-old modified a legally purchased semiautomatic rifle into an assault weapon before targeting the Tops Friendly Market in May. He said in writings posted online that his goal was to terrify Black people and preserve white power. His own lawyer said Monday’s plea “represents a condemnation of the racist ideology that fueled his horrific actions.” Gendron previously pleaded not guilty to separate federal hate crime charges that could carry the death penalty.
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