Peyton Gendron, who has been charged with killing 10 Black people at a Tops supermarket in Buffalo, New York is scheduled to appear Thursday at a state hearing. It is set to take place at 2 p.m. in Erie County Court. The suspect has pleaded not guilty to a 25-count indictment, which includes 10 first-degree murder charges and three attempted murder charges.
Gendron is the first person in the history of New York to be charged with committing a domestic act of terrorism motivated by hate in the first degree, a crime that came into effect in the state in November 2020. If he is found guilty, Gendron will receive a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.
In addition, Gendron is also being charged with 10 counts of second-degree murder as a hate crime, three counts of attempted murder as a hate crime and one count of criminal possession of a weapon.
He is accused of killing six women and four men inside the grocery store on May 14 “because of the perceived race and/or color” of the victims, which the indictment states. He is also being accused of shooting and wounding three people.
Authorities say Gendron was armed with a Bushmaster XM rifle, protected himself with body armor, military fatigues and a tactical helmet with a camera on it. He opened fire around 2:30 p.m., shooting four people outside the store and nine other patrons inside. Police said Gendron fired more than 50 shots during the attack.
He also allegedly livestreamed the massacre on Twitch before the company removed the live feed two minutes after the shooting had started. It remains uncertain if federal prosecutors will seek the death penalty.