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Buffalo Supermarket Shooter To Face Terror Charge After Attack In Black Neighbourhood
The lone gunman is facing a life sentence, with a domestic terrorism charge now added to his list of accused crimes.
A grand jury has charged the 18-year-old accused of opening fire at a Buffalo supermarket with domestic terrorism and 10 counts of murder.
Payton Gendron now faces 25 charges in total following the May 14 shooting in New York.
Those charges include murder, attempted murder, hate crimes, weapons possession, and now also a domestic terrorism motivated by hate charge.
Buffalo lawyer John Elmore, who is representing the families of victims Katherine Massey, 72, and Andre Mackniel, 53, said he hoped Gendron is convicted on every charge.
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"This man was motivated by hate against people he never met for no reason other than the colour of their skin," he told AP.
The 18-year-old from Conklin, New York, has pleaded not guilty.
Ten black people were killed in the Buffalo supermarket attack and three other people were injured.
Following the attack Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown said in a press conference that the attack appears to have been racially motivated.
"This individual came here with the express purpose of taking as many Black lives as he possibly could," Mayor Brown said, according to CNBC.
Authorities also found an 180-page manifesto allegedly by Gendron that detailed the killing spree.
According to AP, the manifesto was posted online and touted the racist ideology that the United States should belong only to white people.
In his manifesto, he reportedly repeatedly cited the ‘great replacement theory’, a white nationalist far-right conspiracy that non-white people are replacing white people in the world.
Gendron's latest charges come as the US continues to reel from back-to-back shootings.
The Buffalo shooting was followed by the Uvalde school shooting only 10 days later.
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The two shootings have now renewed a debate into US gun reform, with President Joe Biden calling on lawmakers to 'stand up to the gun lobby'.
"Why are we willing to live with this carnage? Why do we keep letting this happen? Where in God’s name is our backbone to have the courage to deal with and stand up to the lobbyists," Biden said.
He added: "Why are we willing to keep living with this carnage? It is time to turn this pain into action. It's time to act."
Biden has previously called on Congress to take action on gun control legislation that would require universal background checks and a ban on assault weapons.
Nineteen children and two teachers were killed in the Uvalde shooting in Texas.
Rachel Lang