DOJ To Seek Death Penalty Against Payton Gendron, The White Supremacist Who Killed 10 People At NY Grocery Store, Believes It’s Justified

The Justice Department plans to seek the death penalty for Payton Gendron, the white gunman who entered a Buffalo, NY grocery store and fatally shot 10 people and injured three in a racially motivated attack.

In a court filing Friday, the Department of Justice listed several reasons it believes the death penalty is justified, including the impact the May 14, 2022, shooting had on the victims and survivors.

It also stated that Gendron, intentionally killed Roberta Drury, Pearl Young, Heyward Patterson, Ruth Whitfield, Celestine Chaney, Aaron Salter, Jr., Andre Mackniel, Margus Morrison, Katherine Massey, and Geraldine Talley at Tops Friendly Markets.

In 2022, Gendron was indicted on 27 federal counts, including murder, discharging a firearm, and hate crimes, NBC News reported.

However, the agency’s decision to go after the death penalty wasn’t the outcome some wanted. Mark Talley, the son of Geraldine Talley, said he would rather Gendron “spend the rest of his life in prison suffering every day.”

“I’m not necessarily disappointed in the decision … it would have satisfied me knowing, knowing more he would have spent the rest of his life in prison being surrounded by the population of people he tried to kill,” Talley said.

The families of two other victims felt the same, including Frederick Morrison, the brother of Margus Morrison, who said the DOJ’s decision was “painful” and “not right.”

“We thank the DOJ for its diligence and for fighting for those whose lives were so tragically affected by this atrocity,” attorneys Ben Crump, Terry Connors, and Fu Zimmermann said in a released statement. “We ask that you continue to keep the victims, their families, and the entire Buffalo community in your prayers as they continue to grieve and pursue full justice for those who were stolen from them.”

Gov. Kathy Hochul said she is in favor of the agency’s decision.

“This complies with the DOJ requirements for what constitutes a death penalty offense,” she said at a scheduled news conference Friday to discuss weather preparations ahead of a winter storm.

She said the community is “reeling from the atrocity of 10 innocent people” who were “simply going around shopping and were targeted simply because of the color of their skin.”

“So I support the Department of Justice.”