Payton Gendron Gave Warning Signs Before He Killed 10 People In Buffalo. Why Were They Ignored?

18-year-old Payton Gendron reportedly drove from his hometown of Conklin, New York, into a predominantly Black population of Buffalo, New York, to kill Black citizens. He successfully killed ten Black customers, injured one, and allegedly shot two white customers at Tops Friendly Markets grocery store while live-streaming the incident online.

Payton was arrested and charged with one count of first-degree murder. He has pleaded not guilty. Allegedly, his family members are saying the stress from the Covid pandemic is why Gendron snapped and shot thirteen people. That excuse could be more believable if the shooter did not drive hours away from his hometown to murder multiple people of a different ethnicity. America could have given more consideration to that excuse if he had not written slogans about Blacks, such as Black Lives Matter 'BLM' on the semi-automatic rifle he purchased before the shooting.

Plus, he was well armed and wearing bulletproof gear, which states that he was prepared to commit his crimes and wanted to ensure that he was protected while carrying out the act. Payton showed warning signs that he might violently escalate months before the shooting that were ignored. In the past, he threatened to shoot up a high school, and he posted an online manifesto that spewed hate, his white supremacist beliefs, and a plan for how he would carry out the killings. In his manifesto, he categorized Blacks and other minorities as the problem and "replacers" who invade our lands, live on our soil, attack and replace our people."

The day of the melee was not the gunman's first trip to the Buffalo grocery store. According to USA Today, he was kicked out of Tops Friendly Market the day before the massacre and had been casing Buffalo and surrounding areas to find the best location for a shooting spree.

One of his victims is Aaron Salter, a former Buffalo police officer who was also the store's security guard. The other victims are Roberta A. Drury, Margus D. Morrison, Andre Mackniel, Geraldine Talley, Celestine Chaney, Heyward Patterson, Katherine Massey, Pearl Young, Ruth Whitfield, Zaire Goodman, Jennifer Warrington, and Christopher Braden.

Please follow this story as further details emerge.

Photo & Video Credits AP & Reuters