White gunman pleads guilty in racist US supermarket massacre
- Payton Gendron, 19, will spend life in prison for killing 10 black shoppers and workers in a store in Buffalo, New York
- The case marks the first time anyone in the state of New York has been convicted of the hate-motivated terrorism charge
The white gunman who massacred 10 black shoppers and workers at a Buffalo supermarket pleaded guilty on Monday to murder and hate-motivated terrorism charges, guaranteeing that he will spend the rest of his life in prison.
Payton Gendron, 19, entered the plea Monday in a courthouse roughly 3km (1.9 miles) from the grocery store where he used a semi-automatic rifle and body armour to carry out a racist assault he hoped would help preserve white power in the US.
He pleaded guilty to all the charges in the grand jury indictment, including murder, murder as a hate crime and hate-motivated domestic terrorism, which carries an automatic sentence of life without parole. Gendron also pleaded guilty to wounding three people who survived the May attack.
Gendron, who was handcuffed and wore an orange jumpsuit, showed little emotion through the 45-minute proceeding, just occasionally licking and clenching his lips. He answered “yes” and “guilty” as the judge referred to each victim by name and asked whether he killed each victim because of their race.
Immediate relatives of the victims were joined by Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown and the police commissioner in the gallery. Many of the relatives appeared to be crying, dabbing their eyes and sniffling. The judge urged calm as the proceedings began. “I understand this is a momentous and tremendously emotional event,” Judge Susan Eagan said.