Buffalo Shooting Suspect Indicted On 27-Count Hate Crimes, Firearms Charges- Justice Dept.

WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 15th July, 2022) Payton Gendron, the shooter who killed 13 people in Buffalo, New York, has been indicted by a Federal grand jury on 27 firearms and hate crime charges, the US Justice Department said on Thursday.

"Today, a grand jury has indicted Payton Gendron with hate crime and firearms offenses following the horrific attack on the Black community of Buffalo that killed ten people and injured three others on May 14, 2022," the Justice Department said in a press release.

Gendron is accused of shooting 13 people, ages 20 to 86, at a Tops supermarket store in Buffalo on May 14. Eleven of the victims were Black and two were White, according to the Buffalo Police Department.

The indictment charged Gendron with ten counts of hate crimes resulting in deaths; three counts of hate crimes involving an attempt to kill three injured individuals; one hate crime count alleging Gendron attempted to kill additional Black people in and around the grocery store;

Gendron was also indicted with 13 additional charges "of using, carrying, or discharging a firearm in relation to the hate crimes, and seeks forfeiture of items, including the weapon used in the shooting," the release said.

One of the grand jury's special findings in that Gendron murdered his victims after substantial planning and premeditation to commit an act of terrorism, the release added

If convicted, Gendron will serve a maximum sentence of life in prison or face the death penalty.