Payton Gendron, gunman who killed 10 shoppers and workers at Buffalo supermarket, pleads guilty to murder and terror charges
BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The man behind the hate-fueled mass shooting at a Buffalo supermarket pleaded guilty Monday.
The victims, including customers, employees and an armed security guard, ranged in age from 20 to 86. Eleven of the 13 people shot were Black.
Now, 19-year-old Payton Gendron is expected to spend the rest of his life in prison, CBS2's Jenna DeAngelis reported.
By pleading guilty to New York state's terrorism charge, that's an automatic sentence to life without parole.
No cameras were allowed inside the courtroom, but after the hearing, Erie County District Attorney John Flynn went through the overwhelming evidence supporting that this was a racially motivated attack.
"This case is a poster child for swift justice," Flynn said.
More than six months after the horrific shooting, Gendron pleaded guilty to killing 10 people at the Tops Friendly Market in Buffalo.
"Although the attack lasted just over two minutes, the defendant's planning of a racially motivated attack occurred over a span of several months," Flynn said.
The district attorney detailed evidence of the shooters motivation, including video footage of the attack, and a document outlining his goal to kill as many African-Americans as possible.
Flynn said Gendron researched and targeted the location in a predominantly Black neighborhood and drove several hours from his home in Conklin, near Binghamton, to carry out the attack.
"The penalty for this horrific crime is for this individual never ever to see the light of day again," Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown said.
"Though the federal case continues, his actions today ensure that there will be no state court trial, and he will not appeal. This critical step represents a condemnation of the racist ideology that fueled his horrific actions on May 14," defense attorney Brian Parker said.
Monday's outcome is not enough for the families impacted. They want to see gun violence and racism addressed in the country.
"My mother didn't deserve this. None of these people deserved this, but yet here we are begging, literally begging, for those who are in power to do something about it," said Garnell Whitfield, son of Ruth Whitfield.
Loved ones of four of the victims described an emotional day in court.
"Just hearing them read the details, who got shot first and second ... Zaire got shot third," said Zenata Everhart, mother of Zaire Goodman.
Barbara Mapps and her niece, Adrienne, lost 72-year-old Kat Massey.
"At night time is when I miss her the most. I want him gone because Ii don't want to think he's living and Kat is gone. I miss my sister so much," Mapps said.
"Am I happy that he's going to going to jail for life? At this point, honestly, I don't care, because that was automatic. He was going to go to jail for life. You know, this is documented tons of footage on him. So there's nothing he can plead," said Mark Talley, son of victim Geraldine Talley.
The hearing was difficult for Pam Young, who was upset to learn new details about the murder of her mother, Pearl.
"Now, I've got to go back and relive six months of what I thought and now it has changed. How do you think that makes me feel? And he gets to come in looking like a little teenaged boy? No," Young said.
Backed by their attorneys, the victims' families called for stricter punishment.
"We want him to be treated as the heinous cold-blooded vicious murderer that he was for killing all these innocent Black people," attorney Ben Crump said.
That brings us to the separate federal hate crime charges, which could result in the death sentence if convicted. Gendron has pleaded not guilty to those charges, but the district attorney said the killer is the first ever to be found guilty of state terrorism charge motivated by hate.
The victims of the tragedy will never be forgotten. A permanent memorial to them was announced back in October. Details haven't been finalized.
A planning commission has been appointed and tasked with securing land, funds and input on the design. Already, numerous businesses and people have offered to contribute.