One year after a gunman opened fire at a Buffalo supermarket in a deadly racist attack, local, state and federal officials mourned the 10 people killed in one of the state’s deadliest mass shootings.
The shooting, carried out by an 18-year-old white man, targeted Black people at the Tops Friendly Market on May 14, 2022. The store was closed Sunday as the families of victims and top state officials gathered to mourn the immense loss.
“It’s a beautiful day. It’s Mother’s Day,” said Gov. Kathy Hochul at the vigil. “And the cruel irony behind the fact is a day we celebrate a life that comes into this world, making someone a mother, is also a day we’re here to think about those who are no longer with us. It’s hard. It’s been a really hard year.”
Hochul ordered flags at the state’s Capitol to be lowered to half-staff Sunday.
President Joe Biden, who earlier in his term passed a landmark gun measure tightening federal laws, published an op-Ed Sunday in USA today calling on Congress “to do more to reduce gun violence” by requiring background checks for all gun sales and banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, among other measures.
“We need to do more. In the year after the Buffalo tragedy, our country has experienced more than 650 mass shootings and well over 40,000 deaths due to gun violence, according to one analysis,” wrote Biden.
New York state law bans possessing magazines with more than 10 rounds of ammunition. The shooter legally purchased the weapon used in the attack, an AR-15, in New York, but the magazine affixed to the weapon was not legal in the state.
On Twitter, Biden posted the names of the 10 victims.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams, who has called for stricter federal rules to stem the tide of weapons to New York City, called for increased action to stem the tide of the country’s incessant gun violence.
“One year later and the heartbreak remains. Ten innocent lives lost in Buffalo to a violent act of a white supremacist terrorist,” Mayor Eric Adams wrote on Twitter. “While we are praying for the families affected and this community, we know the time for action to end the scourge of gun violence is now. The responsibility is ours.”
The gunman in the Buffalo massacre pleaded guilty to murder and other charges. He was sentenced to life in prison without parole in February and is awaiting next steps in a federal case against hi
