Shooter Kills 10, Wounds Three In Buffalo Grocery Store; Authorities Investigating As Racially Motivated Attack

On Saturday, a gunman killed 10 people and wounded three in a Buffalo grocery store, and allegedly targeted the establishment because of racial hatred and extremist ideology. He was arrested and pleaded not guilty Saturday afternoon.

The shooter, who will not be named per Daily Wire policy, allegedly live-streamed the horrendous tragedy on Twitch and drove “hours” to the facility. Authorities claimed the shooter chose the Tops Friendly Market in Buffalo because of the racial demographics of the community in which it is located.

“This was pure evil,” Erie County Sheriff John Garcia said Saturday during a press conference. “Straight up racially motivated, hate crime from somebody outside of our community — outside of the City of Good Neighbors, as the mayor said — coming into our community and trying to inflict evil upon us.”

According to Stephen Belongia, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Buffalo field office, the tragedy is being investigated as “as both a hate crime and a case of racially motivated violent extremism.”

President Joe Biden issued a comment about the shooting through White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.

“The President and the First Lady are praying for those who have been lost and for their loved ones,” Jean-Pierre said in a statement. Biden will be updated on the incident throughout the evening, she added.

Saturday evening, Democratic New York Governor Kathy Hochul tweeted, “We must confront the threat that white supremacism poses to our society head-on. I have directed the @nyspolice Hate Crimes Task Force to assist in the investigation of the heinous shooting in Buffalo today.”

“Four store employees, including a security guard, were among the victims. Eleven of the shooting victims are Black, two are white,” Buffalo Police Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia told the media, according to NBC News.

The suspect allegedly “posted a 106-page manifesto online where he described himself as a ‘white supremacist’ and ‘anti-semite’ prior to livestreaming the attack on Twitch,” The Daily Caller reported.

According to those who have viewed the manifesto, the shooter also allegedly promotes green nationalism in addition to white supremacy and neo-nazism. He also allegedly attacks Fox News in the document.

Twitch deleted the suspected shooter’s livestream on the attack and banned him from the website.

“We are devastated to hear about the shooting that took place this afternoon in Buffalo, New York,” the streaming service company said in a statement. “Our hearts go out to the community impacted by this tragedy. Twitch has a zero-tolerance policy against violence of any kind and works swiftly to respond to all incidents. The user has been indefinitely suspended from our service, and we are taking all appropriate action, including monitoring for any accounts rebroadcasting this content.”

On Saturday, Buffalo reporter Kelsey Granderson tweeted, “He is charged with murder in the first degree and his lawyer says he is pleading not guilty. Forensic exam requested by lawyer.”

The suspect will appear in court next Thursday.