Biden says he, first lady are ‘praying’ for victims in Buffalo shooting; condemns possible hate crime

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Buffalo supermarket shooting was 'pure evil': Sheriff

Erie County Sheriff John Garcia speaks on the New York grocery store shooting.

President Biden late Saturday called the Buffalo, New York, shooting that left at least 10 people dead and 3 wounded earlier in the day, "senseless" and condemned "hate-fueled domestic terrorism," noting that the shooter’s motivation is still being investigated. 

"Tonight, we grieve for the families of ten people whose lives were senselessly taken and everyone who is suffering the physical and emotional wounds of this horrific shooting," the president said in a statement. 

"We are grateful for the bravery of members of law enforcement and other first responders who took immediate action to try to protect and save lives. The First Lady and I are praying for the victims and their families, and hearts all across this country are with the people of Buffalo."

NEW YORK POLICE SAY THAT 13 PEOPLE SHOT, 10 DEAD, DURING ‘MASS SHOOTING’ AT BUFFALO GROCERY STORE 

President Joe Biden speaks in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, Friday, May 13, 2022. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Biden said that while the motivation for the shooting isn’t totally clear, "we don’t need anything else to state a clear moral truth: A racially motivated hate crime is abhorrent to the very fabric of this nation. Any act of domestic terrorism, including an act perpetrated in the name of a repugnant white nationalist ideology, is antithetical to everything we stand for in America." 

ATTORNEY GENERAL GARLAND SAYS JUSTICE DEPARTMENT IS INVESTIGATING BUFFALO MASS SHOOTING ‘AS A HATE CRIME’

Police secure an area around a supermarket where several people were killed in a shooting, Saturday, May 14, 2022 in Buffalo, N.Y. Officials said the gunman entered the supermarket with a rifle and opened fire. Investigators believe the man may have been livestreaming the shooting and were looking into whether he had posted a manifesto online (Derek Gee/The Buffalo News via AP) (Derek Gee/The Buffalo News via AP)

The Justice Department said Saturday the shooting, which happened at a supermarket, is being investigated as a "racially-motivated" hate crime and the shooter allegedly said in previous online writings that he was motivated by the New Zealand shooter who killed dozens of Muslim worshippers in 2019, according to the New York Daily News. 

Police walk by a small memorial as they investigate after a shooting at a supermarket on Saturday, May 14, 2022, in Buffalo, N.Y. (AP Photo/Joshua Bessex) (AP Photo/Joshua Bessex)

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Eleven of the people shot were Black and two were White.