The White man who pled guilty to killing 10 Black people and wounding three others in a hate-fueled mass shooting at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York, last year is expected to be sentenced Wednesday to life in prison.
Payton Gendron is scheduled to be read his punishment in Erie County Court after pleading guilty in November to charges including murder and domestic terrorism motivated by hate, which carries an automatic life sentence.
During victim impact statements, a family member representing victim Ruth Whitfield, the 86-year-old mother of a former Buffalo fire commissioner, turned to Gendron and called him a “cowardly racist” for carrying out the shooting at the Tops Friendly Market.
“We find strength in knowing that her legacy will outlive you. You will simply go from a name to a number,” she said. “You’ll be herded like cattle. You will be shut away from the world. You will not enjoy family events. You will not enjoy outings with friends. You will be nameless and faceless and we feel sorry for you. We pity you.”
BUFFALO MASS SHOOTING SUSPECT PAYTON GENDRON PLEADS GUILTY TO ALL STATE CHARGES
Payton Gendron arrives in Erie County Court in New York on Wednesday, Feb. 15. (POOL)
“Even with all of the heartache that you have caused, you still have to break our family spirit,” she added. “You thought you broke us, but you awoke us. We all know the pure hatred and motivations behind your heinous crime and. And we are here to tell you that you failed.”
Gendron, now 19, wore bullet-resistant armor and a helmet equipped with a livestreaming camera as he carried out the May 14, 2022, attack.
He killed his victims with a semiautomatic rifle that was purchased legally but then modified so he could load it with high-capacity ammunition magazines that are illegal in New York.
Gendron’s victims included a church deacon, the grocery store’s guard, a neighborhood activist, a man shopping for a birthday cake, a grandmother of nine and the mother of a former Buffalo fire commissioner. They ranged in age from 32 to 86.
Authorities said Gendron drove about three hours to Buffalo from his home in Conklin, New York, to carry out the shooting. Shortly before opening fire, he posted documents that outlined his White supremacist views and revealed he had been planning the attack for months.
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Community members pay respects at a memorial filled with flowers, photos and mementos outside the Tops Friendly Market on Jefferson Avenue on July 14, 2022, in Buffalo, New York. (John Normile/Getty Images)
In those documents, Gendron said he hoped the attack would help preserve White power in the U.S. and that he picked the Tops grocery store because it was in a predominantly Black neighborhood, according to The Associated Press.
When he pled guilty in November, Gendron’s attorney Brian Parker said, “This critical step represents a condemnation of the racist ideology that fueled his horrific actions on May 14.”
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Buffalo mass shooter Payton Gendron still faces federal charges in relation to the attack. (Erie County District Attorney’s Office/Scott Olson/Getty Images)
Gendron also faces separate federal charges that could carry a death sentence if the U.S. Justice Department chooses to seek it. He has pleaded not guilty to those charges.
In a December hearing, defense attorney Sonya Zoghlin said Gendron is prepared to enter a guilty plea in federal court in exchange for a life sentence.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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