It was previously clear that Gendron had issued a 180-page manifesto prior to the attack, which he livestreamed via Twitch. has published† In it he described, among other things, how he radicalized online under the influence of the right-wing extremist terrorist Brenton Tarrant, who in 2020 committed attacks on two mosques in Christchurch, in New Zealand.
He further described in his piece that he sees himself as a racist, fascist and anti-Semite. He emerges in his text as a hardened ethnic nationalist who promotes white supremacy. He wanted to shoot as many black people as possible and is said to have fired more than 50 times in the busy supermarket. Thirteen people were killed in the attack, including eleven black people. Ten of Gendron’s victims have died.
After President Biden, Vice President Harris also reacted with shock to the attack. “Police are still investigating, but what is already clear is that we are dealing with an epidemic of hatred in our country. The evidence is in the form of violent actions and intolerance,” Harris said. “Racially motivated hate crimes or violent extremism harm us all.”
Retired cop shot dead
Not much has been disclosed about most of the victims. What is clear is that a former police officer, Aaron Salter, is among the dead. He had been a security guard at the supermarket in the black neighborhood since his recent retirement and, according to authorities, ran towards Gendron when he opened fire.
The other victims whose names are known are Ruth Whitfield, 86, who is said to have been in the store after visiting her husband in a care home, and Katherine Massey. Zaire Goodman, 20, was shot in the neck by Gendron, but survived the attack. In Buffalo, flags fly at half-mast at government offices.
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