A White supremacist opened fire at a supermarket in a Black neighborhood in Buffalo, NY. The 18-year-old shot 13 people; 10 died in the mass shooting on Saturday. In the parking lot, three victims were killed, while the rest were slain inside the supermarket. 11 of the 13 people shot were Black, and the remaining two were white.
Four of the victims were store employees, while the rest were shoppers. The event shook the Buffalo community, especially residents of the predominantly Black area. Tops Friendly Market is the only grocery store for miles.
On Sunday morning, in front of the supermarket, community members held a prayer vigil to honor those who died and call attention to the vile danger of white supremacy.”As the names are emerging, it is so heartbreaking because you realize, oh, that’s a friend of your mother, that’s the aunt of another friend of your wife. A man that was simply buying cupcakes for his son’s birthday slaughtered at the counter – the cashier counter,” New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Buffalo native, told ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday.”So no, it is deeply disturbing to all of us.
This is a tight-knit community, they care about each other. We care about everyone, and our hearts are broken, no doubt about it.”Buffalo police released the victims’ names on Sunday night as community members began speaking out to confirm their loved ones were among those shot. Here are the names of the victims and their stories.
Aaron Salter Jr., 55Retired officer Aaron Salter was among the dead, confirmed by Buffalo Police Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia. For 30 years, Salter had served in the police force before working as a security guard for Tops Friendly Market, according to The Daily B. When 18-year-old Payton Gendron began randomly firing at people – first in the parking lot and then inside the supermarket, the 55-year-old was working a shift at the store.
Multiple shots were fired at Gendron by Salter; however, the gunman’s tactical gear could not be penetrated by bullets. Before hunting the other victims, the security guard was shot and killed by Gendron.”He went down fighting. He came in; he went towards the gunfire, he went towards the fight,” Gramaglia told ABC’s “This Week,” adding that there could have been more victims if not for Salter’s actions.
Aaron Salter III, the security guard’s son, told the Daily Beast that the shooting was “a shock,” calling his father a hero who likely “saved some lives today.”This is Aaron Salter Jr.By now, you've likely heard his story… but it's one that needs to be shared again and again.The 55 yr old was the security guard, the hero, who fired at the suspect — trying to stop the monster.Rest In Peace, Hero, Mr. Salter. ? pic.twitter.com/eVJP7oOyOV— Mel Orlins (@Mel_Orlins) May 15, 2022 Ruth Whitfield, 86On Saturday night, retired Buffalo Commissioner, Garnell Whitfield, confirmed that his mother Ruth Whitfield was one of the shooting victims. Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown told churchgoers at the city’s True Bethel Baptist Church that he saw the former commissioner looking for his mother at the shooting scene on Saturday.
Garnell Whitfield said his mother was going to visit his father at a nursing home and had stopped at the supermarket to buy a few groceries, according to Brown, however, “nobody has heard from her.” The mayor said, later she was confirmed as a victim.”My mom was the consummate mom,” Garnell Whitfield told The Buffalo News. “My mother was a mother to the motherless. She was a blessing to all of us.”86-year-old Ruth Whitfield was returning home from visiting her husband in his nursing home when she stopped by Tops Friendly Market to pick up groceries — "a daily ritual," her son, Garnell Whitfield, told @ABC Sunday morning. Ruth was among the 10 who lost their lives. pic.twitter.com/4GBBudz4fF— Anastasia (@AnastasiaElyseW) May 15, 2022 Katherine “Kat” Massey, 72A family member confirmed to The Buffalo News that the gunman killed Katherine Massey after she had gone to the store to pick up some groceries.”She was a beautiful soul,” Massey’s sister, Barbara Massey, texted a reporter for the publication.
Barbara Massey said that their brother was supposed to pick Katherine Massey up when she was done grocery shopping. According to the Buffalo News, she spent hours calling her sister while standing outside the supermarket. The 72-year-old victim was a staunch civil rights advocate, making sure Buffalo’s Black community was heard, according to former Erie County Legislator Betty Jean Grant, a friend of Katherine Massey’s for over 20 years.
Massey wrote a letter to the editor calling for stronger gun regulations at the federal level to combat both street violence and mass shootings, just last year.”We lost a voice yesterday,” Grant told The Buffalo News. “We lost a powerful, powerful voice.”