The U.S. Department of Justice is seeking the death penalty for the shooter who killed 10 Black people at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York in May 2022.
According to a new court filing, federal prosecutors are asking for capital punishment for 20-year-old Payton Gendron, who was 19 when he carried out the racist attack at a Tops supermarket in a predominately-Black area, per the Guardian.
Gendron, fueled by racist conspiracy theories he found online, set out to kill “as many Blacks as possible” out of concern “for the future of the white race,” according to a criminal complaint that cites documents found in his home.
In November 2022, Gendron pleaded guilty to state charges including murder and domestic terrorism motivated by hate. He was sentenced to life in prison in February.
Gendron was also charged with federal hate crimes in a separate case, which gave the DOJ the option to seek the death penalty. Gendron previously promised to plead guilty in that case if prosecutors didn’t seek capital punishment.
In a statement announcing the decision to seek the death penalty, US attorney Trini Ross said Gendron selected the Buffalo market for his attack “in order to maximize the number of Black victims”.
Ross also noted the substantial planning that led up to the shooting and how Gendron targeted at least one victim who was “particularly vulnerable due to old age and infirmity”.
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