Nine months following the gruesome mass shooting in Buffalo, NY, gunman Payton Gendron has been sentenced to life in prison without parole. The 19-year-old domestic terrorist had killed 10 people during a racially fueled attack of an East Buffalo grocery store. According to the New York Times, Gendron is "an avowed white supremacist." He specifically targeted the Tops Friendly Market based on its primarily black customer base. All of the deceased victims were black.
Grieving family members testified in front Gendron, who offered an apology for his actions. Sheryl Crawley, the granddaughter of victim Ruth Whitfield, called the gunman "a cowardly racist." She continued her powerful testimony directed at not only Gendron, but also the larger movement behind his motives. “You recorded the last moments of our loved ones’ lives to garner support for your hateful cause, but you immortalize them instead,” she explained. “We are extremely aware that you are not a lone wolf, but a part of a larger organized network of domestic terrorists. And to that network, we say we as a people are unbreakable.”
A Trial Filled With Raw Emotions
Other family members also spoke out, including Zeneta Everhart whose son Zaire was one of the three surviving victims. She hauntingly told Gendron, "the world says you have to forgive in order to move on. But I stand before you today to say that will never happen.” Gendron's sentencing had been interrupted twice by emotionally distraught family members. One member of the gallery had lunged at Gendron, but was restrained. Another had interrupted his personal statement by screaming at the defendant. Presiding over the case was Judge Susan Eagan, who acknowledged the anger harboring within the audience, but calmly consoled the court back to order.
Judge Eagan also prepared a statement regarding racism and white supremacy that she read to the courtroom. She referred to the ideologies as an “insidious cancer on our society and nation.” The gunman was merely 18 at the time of his horrific act of terrorism but had thoroughly pre-planned the May 14th attack. Gendron had even gone to the lengths to live-stream the shooting. Allegedly, the killer had previously expressed his desire to commit a school shooting in 2021 but was never flagged for posing a threat. Now, Gendron will be permanently locked behind bars. Judge Eagan told the gunman during trial, “you will never see the light of day as a free man again.”