Buffalo shooting gunman pleads guilty to murder and hate crime charges

A white gunman who targeted a grocery in Buffalo, New York, because it was the city with the most Black residents in closest proximity to his home, will spend the rest of his life in prison after pleading guilty to murder and hate crime charges in the May 14 shooting at Tops Friendly Market.

Thirteen people, including 11 Black people and two white people, were shot in the massacre, which the suspect had streamed on the social media platform Twitch.

Payton Gendron, 19, on Monday, pleaded guilty to 25 state counts of domestic terrorism motivated by hate, first-degree murder and attempted murder as a hate crime and weapons possession.

The domestic terrorism motivated by hate charge carries an automatic life sentence upon conviction.

Family members of the people killed and wounded in a racist grocery store shooting said Monday that it was not enough for the shooter to plead guilty, calling on lawmakers and others to acknowledge America’s history of racism and white supremacy.