The person suspected of shooting 13 people in Buffalo, New York, in a racist attack pleaded not guilty to the 25 counts contained in an indictment returned by a grand jury on Thursday.
Payton Gendron, 18, has been ordered by Erie County Court Judge Susan Eagan to be held without bond and is due back in court on July 7.
The 25 counts Gendron faces include one count of domestic terrorism motivated by hate, 10 counts of first-degree murder, 10 counts of second-degree murder, three counts of attempted murder as hate crimes, and one count of illegal possession of a weapon. The counts were first revealed on Wednesday but were made public during Gendron’s arraignment hearing.
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The count for domestic terrorism motivated by hate was included for Gendron, who is white, being accused of attacking people based on race. New York’s domestic terrorism hate crime law took effect in November 2020, making Gendron the first defendant to face a charge from that law.
Gendron allegedly arrived at the supermarket on May 14 and shot 13 people, 10 of whom were black. He was heavily armed with tactical gear during the attack and livestreamed a portion of the shooting, which ended with Gendron surrendering to law enforcement outside the store, the police allege.
A total of 10 deaths and three injuries were counted when the attack was over.
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The Buffalo shooting, along with the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, on May 24 that left 19 students and two teachers dead, has raised new pushes for gun control laws in the United States. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) indicated on Wednesday the House will hold a hearing and markup of an assault weapons ban in the near future.
