Buffalo suspect indicted in mass killing, district attorney says

By Kanishka Singh and Dan Whitcomb

(Reuters) -An 18-year-old suspect has been indicted on charges he gunned down 10 Black residents in a Buffalo, New York supermarket, and will make a court appearance on Thursday, the office of the local county’s district attorney said.

The district attorney’s office declined to list the charges in the indictment against Payton Gendron, who was taken into custody following the May 14 shooting rampage.

U.S. media reported that he was charged on 25 counts of murder and domestic terrorism. The New York Times reported that he was charged with first- and second-degree murder as hate crimes and three counts of attempted murder, along with other charges.

The district attorney’s office said Gendron was scheduled to appear in an Erie County courtroom on Thursday afternoon.

Prosecutors said Gendron was targeting Black people when he shot 13 people at a Tops Friendly Market store with a semi-automatic, assault-style rifle.

Authorities said the gunman broadcast video of the attack to a social media platform in real time. He is accused of posting white supremacist material online.

The deadly rampage marked the latest in a series of mass shootings across the United States, many of them carried out by young men using semi-automatic, assault-style weapons.

On May 24, an 18-year-old man opened fire at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, killing 19 students and two teachers.

The shootings in Buffalo and Uvalde have re-ignited a fierce debate between advocates of tighter gun controls and those who oppose any legislation that could compromise the U.S. constitutional right of Americans to bear arms.

U.S. President Joe Biden, has joined fellow Democrats in calling for new gun restrictions, such as a ban on assault-style weapons and universal background checks for firearms purchases.

(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington and Dan Whitcomb in Los Angeles; Editing by David Gregorio)