US President Joe Biden spoke on Sunday, 15th, about the attack in Buffalo, New York, the previous day, in which a gunman killed ten people in a racist attack. The White House described the crime as an “act of domestic terrorism.”
“A lone gunman armed with weapons of war and armed with a hateful spirit killed ten innocent people in cold blood,” the President said in a statement in Washington. “We must work together to combat the hatred that remains a stain on America’s soul,” he said.
Emotional Buffalo residents also gathered today for vigils and religious services to honor the victims.
With emotions ranging from anger to sadness, the speakers denounced this latest explosion of racial violence and the easy availability of high-powered weapons that have sadly become a familiar scene in the United States.
Payton Gendron, an 18-year-old heavily armed white teenager, shot several people in a Buffalo supermarket. 10 people died in the accident, 3 people were injured.
The place was known to be mainly frequented by the black community in the area. Eleven of the victims were African-American.
“We are investigating this case as a hate crime and racially-based extremist violence case,” said Stephen Belongia, special agent at the FBI’s Buffalo office.
The attacker, who surrendered as soon as the police arrived, was arrested and charged with “deliberate death”. He donned a helmet with a camera, a bulletproof vest, and military-style clothing to broadcast his crime live online.
John Garcia, the sheriff of Erie County, where Buffalo is located, said it was “absolute evil.” “This is a racist and hate-motivated crime,” he added.
American media reported that authorities are investigating a “racist nature” manifesto posted on the internet in which the suspect explains his plans and motivations. Payton Gendron is said to have been inspired by acts of white supremacy, such as the killing of 51 Muslims in mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, in 2019.
“Any act of domestic terrorism, including acts committed in the name of a vile ideology of white nationalism, goes against everything we stand for in the United States,” the White House said in a statement. Said.
possession of a weapon
This is not the first racially motivated shooting attack in the United States in recent years. In 2019, a white man traveled for several hours in Texas and killed 23 people at a Walmart supermarket in El Paso, where the majority of the population is Hispanic. Four years ago, a white man opened fire on an African-American community church in Charleston, South Carolina, killing nine people. In both cases, the shooters posted hate speech before carrying out the attacks.
Despite repeated deadly shootings and a wave of gun violence across the country, several attempts in the US Congress to reform gun laws have failed, leaving states and provinces to set their own restrictions.
According to information published by the American press, the Buffalo hitman had already been identified by the police as a potentially dangerous person and had to undergo psychological examinations. Despite this, he managed to buy a combat weapon.
(with information from AFP)
source: Noticias
