The 18-year-old white man accused of carrying out a mass shooting at a Buffalo supermarket has been indicted by a grand jury on a charge of first-degree murder.
Payton Gendron is suspected of killing 10 people at the Tops Friendly Market located in a predominantly Black neighborhood.
Assistant District Attorney Gary Hackbush announced Thursday that the first-degree murder indictment, which covers all 10 deaths, was handed up Wednesday.
Gendron appeared briefly in court Thursday wearing an orange jumpsuit and a white face mask and was silent throughout the proceeding where he was ordered to remain held without bail.
As he was led out, someone reportedly yelled, “Payton you’re a coward!”
Ten people were killed and three others wounded Saturday in the Buffalo supermarket shooting. Police say 11 of the 13 people shot were Black. Authorities also allege Gendron posted a 180-page racist manifesto online in which he wrote about how he viewed Black people as “replacers” of whites. Social media posts by the accused gunman also suggest he had been planning the attack for months.
Gendron previously pleaded not guilty to a charge of first-degree murder.
Officials are continuing to investigate the possibility of hate crime and terrorism charges.
He is due back in court on June 9.
