WATCH: Video shows man charge toward Buffalo grocery store mass shooter in court
ByThe Associated Press
ByThe Associated Press
BUFFALO, N.Y. — The white supremacist who killed 10 Black people in a Buffalo supermarket was hustled out out of a courtroom Wednesday after someone in the audience rushed at him and was restrained by a court officer.
Payton Gendron’s sentencing resumed about 10 minutes after the episode, which came as Barbara Massey Mapps excoriated him for killing her 72-year-old sister, Katherine Massey. As Mapps shouted and pointed at Gendron, a person in the audience took a few steps toward him before getting held back.
See video of the courtroom incident here:
#BREAKING: A man charged at the Buffalo mass shooter during his sentencing and was stopped by officers and ushered out of the courtroom. The incident happened while Barbara Massey, the sister of shooting victim Kat Massey, was speaking. Live coverage: https://t.co/QlrGwOsS1cpic.twitter.com/kAkZUaBr6o
“You don’t know what we’re going through,” a man shouted as he was led away by court officers. For several minutes thereafter, family members hugged and calmed each other.
After about 10 minutes, Judge Susan Eagan ordered Gendron back in and let the proceeding resume, admonishing everyone to “conduct ourselves appropriately.”
“I understand that emotion, and I understand the anger, but we cannot have that in the courtroom,” she said.
Gendron pleaded guilty in November to charges including murder and domestic terrorism motivated by hate. The terrorism charge carries an automatic life sentence.
Moments earlier, Kimberly Salter, the widow of security guard Aaron Salter, explained why she and her family were wearing black and red.
“Red for the blood that he shed for his family and for his community, and black because we are still grieving,” she said as her husband’s killer, Payton Gendron, looked directly at her from the defense table.
1 of 25
Gunman opens fire in Buffalo supermarket People hug outside the scene after a shooting at a supermarket on Saturday, May 14, 2022, in Buffalo, N.Y. (Joshua Bessex/AP)
Gunman opens fire in Buffalo supermarket Police respond to the scene of a shooting in the parking lot of a supermarket where several people were killed in a shooting, Saturday, May 14, 2022 in Buffalo, N.Y. Officials said the gunman entered the supermarket with a rifle and opened fire. Investigators believe the man may have been livestreaming the shooting and were looking into whether he had posted a manifesto online. (Joshua Bessex/AP)
Gunman opens fire in Buffalo supermarket Police speak to bystanders while investigating after a shooting at a supermarket on Saturday, May 14, 2022, in Buffalo, N.Y. Officials said the gunman entered the supermarket with a rifle and opened fire. Investigators believe the man may have been livestreaming the shooting and were looking into whether he had posted a manifesto online. (Joshua Bessex/AP)
Gunman opens fire in Buffalo supermarket A body lays covered in the parking lot of a supermarket where several people were killed in a shooting, Saturday, May 14, 2022 in Buffalo, N.Y. Officials said the gunman entered the supermarket with a rifle and opened fire. Investigators believe the man may have been livestreaming the shooting and were looking into whether he had posted a manifesto online. (Mark Mulville/AP)
Gunman opens fire in Buffalo supermarket Police secure the area around a supermarket where several people were killed in a shooting, Saturday, May 14, 2022 in Buffalo, N.Y. Officials said the gunman entered the supermarket with a rifle and opened fire. Investigators believe the man may have been livestreaming the shooting and were looking into whether he had posted a manifesto online. (Mark Mulville/AP)
Gunman opens fire in Buffalo supermarket Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown speaks during a press conference after a shooting at a supermarket on Saturday, May 14, 2022, in Buffalo, N.Y. (Joshua Bessex/AP)
Gunman opens fire in Buffalo supermarket Bystanders gather under an umbrella as rain rolls in after a shooting at a supermarket on Saturday, May 14, 2022, in Buffalo, N.Y. Officials said the gunman entered the supermarket with a rifle and opened fire. Investigators believe the man may have been livestreaming the shooting and were looking into whether he had posted a manifesto online. (Joshua Bessex/AP)
Gunman opens fire in Buffalo supermarket Buffalo mayor Byron Brown takes a call after a shooting at a supermarket on Saturday, May 14, 2022, in Buffalo, N.Y. Officials said the gunman entered the supermarket with a rifle and opened fire. Investigators believe the man may have been livestreaming the shooting and were looking into whether he had posted a manifesto online. (Joshua Bessex/AP)
Gunman opens fire in Buffalo supermarket A bystander watches as police investigate after a shooting at a supermarket on Saturday, May 14, 2022, in Buffalo, N.Y. (Joshua Bessex/AP)
Gunman opens fire in Buffalo supermarket Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown takes a moment of silence and prayer following a shooting at a supermarket on Saturday, May 14, 2022, in Buffalo, N.Y. (Joshua Bessex/AP)
Gunman opens fire in Buffalo supermarket Buffalo Police Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia speaks at a press conference after a shooting at a supermarket on Saturday, May 14, 2022, in Buffalo, N.Y. (Joshua Bessex/AP)
Gunman opens fire in Buffalo supermarket Police investigate after a shooting at a supermarket, Saturday, May 14, 2022, in Buffalo, N.Y. (Joshua Bessex/AP)
Gunman opens fire in Buffalo supermarket Buffalo Police respond to a shooting at Tops Friendly Market in Buffalo, N.Y., Saturday, May 14, 2022. (Carolyn Thompson/AP)
Gunman opens fire in Buffalo supermarket Police secure a perimeter after a shooting at a supermarket, Saturday, May 14, 2022, in Buffalo, N.Y. (Joshua Bessex/AP)
Gunman opens fire in Buffalo supermarket A crowd gathers as police investigate after a shooting at a supermarket on Saturday, May 14, 2022, in Buffalo, N.Y. Multiple people were shot at the Tops Friendly Market. Police have notified the public that the alleged shooter was in custody. (AP Photo/Joshua Bessex) (Joshua Bessex/AP)
Gunman opens fire in Buffalo supermarket Police investigate after a shooting at a supermarket, Saturday, May 14, 2022, in Buffalo, N.Y. (AP Photo/Joshua Bessex) (Joshua Bessex/AP)
Gunman opens fire in Buffalo supermarket A crowd gathers as police investigate after a shooting at a supermarket on Saturday, May 14, 2022, in Buffalo, N.Y. Multiple people were shot at the Tops Friendly Market. Police have notified the public that the alleged shooter was in custody. (AP Photo/Joshua Bessex) (Joshua Bessex/AP)
Gunman opens fire in Buffalo supermarket People gather outside a supermarket where several people were killed in a shooting, Saturday, May 14, 2022 in Buffalo, N.Y. Officials said the gunman entered the supermarket with a rifle and opened fire. Investigators believe the man may have been livestreaming the shooting and were looking into whether he had posted a manifesto online (Derek Gee/The Buffalo News via AP) (Derek Gee/AP)
Gunman opens fire in Buffalo supermarket A crowd gathers as police investigate after a shooting at a supermarket on Saturday, May 14, 2022, in Buffalo, N.Y. Multiple people were shot at the Tops Friendly Market. Police have notified the public that the alleged shooter was in custody. (AP Photo/Joshua Bessex) (Joshua Bessex/AP)
Gunman opens fire in Buffalo supermarket Police secure an area around a supermarket where several people were killed in a shooting, Saturday, May 14, 2022 in Buffalo, N.Y. Officials said the gunman entered the supermarket with a rifle and opened fire. Investigators believe the man may have been livestreaming the shooting and were looking into whether he had posted a manifesto online (Derek Gee/The Buffalo News via AP) (Derek Gee/AP)
Gunman opens fire in Buffalo supermarket Police vehicles block off the street where at least 10 people were killed in a shooting at a supermarket, Saturday, May 14, 2022 in Buffalo, N.Y. Officials said the gunman entered the supermarket with a rifle and opened fire. Investigators believe the man may have been livestreaming the shooting and were looking into whether he had posted a manifesto online (Derek Gee/The Buffalo News via AP) (Derek Gee/AP)
Gendron pleaded guilty in November to charges including murder and domestic terrorism motivated by hate. The terrorism charge carries an automatic life sentence.
Relatives of several victims are expected to speak during the hearing, giving them an opportunity to address the judge and the killer responsible for their sorrow.
Gendron, now 19, wore bullet-resistant armor and a helmet equipped with a livestreaming camera as he carried out the May 14 attack. He killed his victims with a semiautomatic rifle, purchased legally but then modified so he could load it with high-capacity ammunition magazines that are illegal in New York.
There were only three survivors after he shot 13 people, specifically seeking out Black shoppers and workers.
His victims at Tops Friendly Market included a church deacon, the grocery store’s guard, a neighborhood activist, a man shopping for a birthday cake, a grandmother of nine and the mother of a former Buffalo fire commissioner. The victims ranged in age from 32 to 86.
In documents posted online, Gendron said he hoped the attack would help preserve white power in the U.S. He wrote that he picked the Tops grocery store, about a three-hour drive from his home in Conklin, New York, because it was in a predominantly Black neighborhood.
While a life prison sentence is guaranteed for Gendron, he also faces separate federal charges that could carry a death sentence if the U.S. Justice Department chooses to seek it. New York state does not have the death penalty.
Buffalo Supermarket Shooting: What you need to know (NCD)
Gendron’s admission of guilt on the state charges is seen as a potential help in avoiding a death sentence in the penalty phase of any federal trial. In a December hearing, defense attorney Sonya Zoghlin said Gendron is prepared to enter a guilty plea in federal court in exchange for a life sentence.
The mass shooting in Buffalo, and another less than two weeks later that killed 19 students and two teachers at a Texas elementary school, amplified calls for stronger gun controls, including from victims’ relatives who traveled to Washington, D.C. to testify before lawmakers.
New York legislators quickly passed a law banning semiautomatic rifle sales to most people under age 21. The state also banned sales of some types of body armor.
President Joe Biden signed a compromise gun violence bill in June intended to toughen background checks, keep firearms from more domestic violence offenders and help states put in place red flag laws making it easier for authorities to take weapons from people adjudged to be dangerous.
Click here to download the free WFTV news and weather apps, click here to download the WFTV Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.