Payton Gendron, the 18-year-old who carried out the Buffalo massacre that resulted in ten deaths and three injuries, is to enter a guilty plea to state charges. Payton Gendron is now charged with federal hate crimes, but if he enters a plea to state charges, he will likely also enter a plea to federal charges. Ten counts of first-degree murder, ten counts of second-degree murder committed as a hate crime, and three counts of attempted murder were brought against Payton Gendron. Ten people were killed and three more were hurt when Payton Gendron opened fire inside a grocery store in Buffalo, New York, a city with a large black population.
More news on Payton Gendron
A victims’ attorney predicts that the alleged mass shooter, who is accused of killing 10 people in a Buffalo, New York, grocery store earlier this year in what authorities described as a racially motivated attack, will enter a guilty plea on Monday.
According to Terrence Connors, who represents the families of the seven people killed in the shooting and the two people who were injured, Payton Gendron is due in court at 9:30 a.m. ET where he is anticipated to enter guilty pleas on all 25 counts in a state indictment, CNN reported earlier this month. The accused earlier entered a plea of innocence.
Due to a snowfall in the Buffalo area, the hearing was originally planned for last Monday but was postponed.
According to the indictment, Gendron is accused of 10 charges of first-degree murder, 10 counts of second-degree murder committed as a hate crime, and 3 counts of attempted murder committed as a hate crime.
According to the indictment, he also faces charges related to domestic terrorism and firearms.
Investigators think the alleged shooter chose his victims, who ranged in age from 20 to 86, primarily on race.
He allegedly came from a distance of hours to carry out the attack on May 14 at the Tops Friendly Markets, which is located in a neighborhood with a high concentration of Black people.
According to police, eleven of the 13 victims who were shot were Black and two were White.
The sole punishment for the domestic terrorism charge, according to Erie County District Attorney John Flynn, is life in prison without the possibility of parole if Gendron is found guilty on the state’s counts.
He noted that in order to pursue this allegation, prosecutors must demonstrate that five or more people were killed with racial motivation in mind.
The suspect’s lawyer, Dan DuBois, told CNN earlier this month that a gag order in the case prevented him from commenting.
The prosecution in the case, the Erie County District Attorney’s Office, is also bound by a gag order and declined to comment at the time.
When Connors revealed the suspect’s intention to enter a guilty plea, she spoke for “a magnificent group of families.”
Although the tragedy still weighs heavily on their minds, they have used this horror to spur good deeds. He is no longer significant to their lives, in their eyes.
Their lives now revolve around recovering some good from this terrible event.
The suspect is also charged with several federal hate crimes, some of which are punishable by the death penalty, as well as several firearms-related offenses.
According to a criminal complaint, federal prosecutors claim the alleged gunman’s motivation was to “prevent Black people from replacing White people and eliminating the White race, and to inspire others to commit similar attacks.”
To the federal allegations, Gendron has entered a not guilty plea.
The AR-15-style rifle used in the shooting was legally purchased in New York State, but it was modified with a high-capacity magazine, which is prohibited in the state, according to New York Governor Kathy Hochul.
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