Mass shooting in Buffalo: What we know

Ten people were killed Saturday at a Tops Markets on Jefferson Avenue in Buffalo by a gunman dressed in body armor and armed with a high-powered rifle. Three others were wounded outside and inside the store. Here’s what we know:

The latest:

• Authorities say the mass shooting was racially motivated and a hate crime. Payton Gendron, 18, of Broome County, was arraigned Saturday evening before Buffalo City Court Judge Craig Hannah on a first-degree murder charge. Gendron is white and 11 of the 13 victims were Black, law enforcement officials said.

• Police were searching Gendron’s home in Conklin on Saturday night and Sunday morning.

• The FBI is asking anyone who has photos or videos related to the shooting to submit them to a newly created website for that purpose.

• Mental health counselors from an array of agencies will be available until 9 p.m. tonight at the Johnnie B. Wiley Center.

• Details are starting to emerge about the victims of the shooting. The News has identified three of the victims: Aaron W. Salter, Ruth Whitfield and Katherine Massey.

More of what we know:

• A government official told The Buffalo News that the semi-automatic gun that Gendron used in the shooting had “the N-word” spelled out in white paint on the barrel, and also the number 14. The official said “14” refers to a 14-word statement that is popular with white supremacists.

• Erie County Sheriff John Garcia said, “It was straight up, a racially motivated hate crime.” Garcia added, “This person was pure evil.”

• The gunman streamed some or all of the shooting in a live video online, authorities said. Still images and video clips purportedly showing portions of the shooting had circulated on social media in the hours after the horrific mass shooting.

• Four people were shot in the Tops parking lot, three killed and one injured, before the shooter entered the store, Buffalo Police Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia said. Inside the supermarket, several other victims were found, two sources said, and some of the deceased appeared to be hiding near cash register lines.

• Four store employees that were shot included a security guard who confronted the gunman, who was protected by body armor, Gramaglia said. The security guard, who was killed, was retired Buffalo police officer Aaron Salter.

• The shooter was taken into custody and placed in a police vehicle at the scene, according to the two sources. The shooter was cloaked in body armor and had a military grade helmet on his head.

• Shonnell Harris, an operation manager at the Tops, said she heard gun shots and ran frantically through the store, falling several times before exiting out the back. She saw the shooter, whom she described as a white man wearing camouflage. “He looked like he was in the Army.” Harris thought she heard 70 shots. Transmissions on police radio described a grim scene.

• A worker in the dairy-frozen department at the Tops store said he walked into the cooler to stock milk about three minutes before the shooting. The worker hid there when the shooting began and more people joined him, he said.

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