A photo of the Tops supermarket that witnessed racially motivated shooting on Saturday morning.
By : Sanat Sari Saren.
Photo source : NBC News.
Racially Motivated Shooting.
On Saturday, a heavily armed 18 year old man, entered a Tops supermarket in Buffalo, New York and carried out a racially motivated attack that left 10 shoppers dead.
The gunman reportedly recorded and livestreamed his actions on social media (Twitch).
Buffalo police commissioner Joseph Gamaglia said to the press correspondents, the gunman has been captured alive after the massacre.
He also added that the gunman was wearing body armor and a helmet to conceal his identity.
According to reports, the death toll at the end of the gunman’s shooting spree was 10 dead and 3 wounded.
Nearly eleven of the victims were of African-American descent, thereby prompting authorities to declare the crime as a racially motivated attack.
The Aftermath.
The identity of the shooter is still unknown, with many speculating that the gunman arrived to Erie County, Buffalo from outside the local community.
The weapon used in the shooting was reported to be of assault category. In New York, Automatic and Semi automatic rifles are classified as Assault weapons.
The gunman was confronted by police officials, and had briefly put the gun to his neck but was eventually talked down by police negotiators.
Following which, officers took him into custody. The gunman’s intention behind the attack is still unknown.
Photo Source: Reuters
Local population have received advisory to avoid the area and follow instructions relayed by law enforcement officials.
Total Death Toll.
According to police commissioner Gamaglia, the shooter shot four people at the parking lot of the Tops supermarket.
Fatally wounding three of them and then proceeded to enter the supermarket.
Among the victims inside, there was one ex-police officer who had been working as a security guard for the supermarket.
According to eyewitnesses, the gunman faced return fire from the security guard. Still eventually the gunman killed the guard.
Stephen Belognia, special agent in charge of FBI’s Buffalo field office said to journalists that the case is being investigated as a hate crime incident as well as racially motivated violent extremism case.
The district attorney of Erie County, John Flynn said that the suspect would be undergoing trial on charges of first degree murder, which carries life sentence without parole.
Upon inquiry about the video footage circulated on Twitch, a Twitch spokesperson issued a statement saying, “the user’s account has been suspended from Twitch servers”.
Official response of Washington.
White House’s press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told press correspondents that US. President Joe Biden has received briefing about the “horrendous event”.
She also said that the president and the first lady conveyed their condolences and prayers for the victims and their families.
Photo Source : NBC News.
President Biden will continue to receive updates about the incident. According to reports an address from the president is underway.
A senior US senator from New York, Chuck Schumer expressed his solidarity on twitter, for the people of Buffalo.
Buffalo city’s mayor Byron Brown said “the gunman travelled for hours, from outside the community” to execute his plans.
Conclusion.
With the increase of racially motivated hate crimes and gun violence sweeping through the country,
authorities have called for more stringent gun laws to curb the violent trends.
According to new data from the Centre of Disease control and prevention (CDC), United States saw 19,350 firearm homicides in 2019.
An increase of nearly 35% as compared to 2018.
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