In his posts, the suspect said he visited the Tops Friendly Market three times on March 8 to survey the layout as well as at the times of the day when there were the most customers. He planned his attack for mid-March, the posts say, but delayed the date several times.
The alleged gunman was taken into custody in the immediate aftermath and is under suicide watch after pleading not guilty to a first-degree murder charge, according to authorities.
- Suspect visited supermarket day before attack: Buffalo Police Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia said the suspect was at the Tops Friendly Market the day prior to the shooting “doing reconnaissance.” He was also there in early March, Gramaglia said.
- Attack would have continued elsewhere had suspect not been stopped: The suspect had other “target locations” down the street, according to Erie County Sheriff John Garcia. Authorities found another rifle and a shotgun in his vehicle, said Garcia, who credited the quick arrival of two police officers with preventing other attacks.
- Writing seen on suspect’s firearms: CNN has obtained a photo of two of the firearms inside the alleged gunman’s vehicle that were not used in the shooting. Writing is seen on the weapons, including the phrase “White Lives Matter” as well as what appears to be the name of a victim of a crime committed by a Black suspect.
- Video shows gunman apologizing, sparing one person’s life: Video obtained by CNN and filmed during the shooting shows the gunman turning his weapon on a man who is curled up on the ground near what looks like a checkout lane. The man shouts, “No,” and the shooter then says “Sorry,” turns and walks away. The video ends at this point and it is unknown what happened next. It’s not clear why the man was apparently spared or why the gunman apologized.
- Family has not visited suspect in jail: Investigators have spoken to the suspect’s family and described them as “distraught” and “sickened” by what happened, Sheriff Garcia said. The alleged shooter has met with his legal team while in custody, he said, but there have been no family requests to visit the shooter.
- Federal charges may apply in shooting: Federal prosecutors are working to bring charges against the suspect in the coming days, law enforcement officials say, and would be in addition to state charges. Attorney General Merrick Garland on Saturday said the Justice Department was investigating the attack as a “hate crime and an act of racially-motivated violent extremism.”
- Presidential visit on Tuesday: President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden are scheduled to visit Buffalo Tuesday and meet with the families of the shooting victims, first responders and community leaders.
Racist beliefs shared in rant allegedly from suspect
“We continue to investigate this case as a hate crime, a federal hate crime, and as a crime perpetrated by a racially motivated, violent extremist,” Stephen Belongia, special agent in charge of the FBI Buffalo field office, said Sunday at a news conference.
He made an “ominous” reference to murder-suicide through a virtual learning platform in June, the Susquehanna Valley Central School District said Monday. Though the threat was not specific and did not involve other students, the instructor immediately informed an administrator who escalated the matter to New York State Police, a spokesperson told CNN, adding the law limits what more school officials can say.
Community mourns loved ones lost
“We are a community in Buffalo. If you are a Black and Brown person, you knew someone impacted,” said Phylicia Dove, a local business owner and activist. “This is the impact of White supremacy. This was not a case of mental health, this is someone who targeted an impoverished community heavily concentrated with poor Black people, and caught us in our most vulnerable moment.”
“I feel more insulted than anything,” resident Darius Morgan told CNN. Born and raised in Buffalo, Morgan said of the gunman, “How dare you come in here? How dare you take this from us? We grew up here, this is our home, and they came in and destroyed it.”
CNN’s Artemis Moshtaghian, Nicki Brown, Laura Ly, Jenn Selva, Victor Blackwell, Amanda Watts, David Williams, Jamiel Lynch, Shimon Prokupecz, Evan Perez, Eric Levenson, Holly Yan, Steve Almasy and Jon Passantino contributed to this report.
