The shooter who left 10 dead at a Buffalo supermarket pleaded not guilty Thursday to hate-motivated domestic terrorism and other charges.
As reported by the Epoch Times, a lawyer entered the plea for 18-year-old Payton Gendron in the first case to make use of New York’s domestic terrorism hate crime law.
Witnesses, police and GEndron’s own writings and live streamed video incriminated him as the gunman who used a rifle on May 14th to target shoppers and employees at a Tops Friendly Market. Authorities said he chose the store because of its location in a predominately African American neighborhood.
“There is overwhelming proof of the defendant’s guilt,” Assistant District attorney John Fereleto said. “The defendant was caught at the scene of the crime with the weapon in his hands.”
Gendron, who has been held without bail since the shooting, was charged with murder shortly after the massacre.
On Wednesday, a new indictment expanded the case to include the domestic terrorism charge, along with 10 counts of first-degree murder, 10 counts of second-degree murder as a hate crime, criminal possession of a weapon and three counts of attempted murder as a hate crime.
The charge accuses him of killing at least five people “because of the perceived race and/or color” of his victims.
