Buffalo mass shooting suspect pleads guilty

The man who fatally shot ten black people in a supermarket in Buffalo, N.Y., pleaded guilty Monday to murder and hate-motivated terrorism charges. Police say 19-year-old Payton Gendron, who is white, drove three hours on May 14 to a supermarket in a predominantly black neighborhood to kill as many black people as possible. He’s the first person to plead guilty to a hate-motivated terrorism charge in the state of New York, said Erie County District Attorney John Flynn. Hate-motivated terrorism carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison without parole. 

Did he plead not guilty to anything? He pleaded not guilty to separate federal hate crime charges that could result in a death sentence. The Justice Department has not said whether it will seek capital punishment. The shooter’s lawyers suggested that Gendron now regrets the crime, but did not elaborate on that statement or take questions from reporters. An acknowledgment of guilt and repentance could help him avoid the death penalty.

Dig deeper: Read Mark Hemingway’s column in WORLD Opinions on possible solutions to gun violence.