Buffalo shooting victim's son gives impassioned Senate testimony: 'We're mad as hell'
Garnell Whitfield, Jr., the son of Buffalo shooting victim Ruth Whitfield, testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Tuesday, June 7, 2022.
The White man accused of killing 10 Black people and wounding three others in a hate-fueled shooting attack in Buffalo, New York, is expected to plead guilty to all the state charges facing him, lawyers say.
In June, a grand jury indicted Payton Gendron on charges of murder and attempted murder -- as well as state domestic terrorism and hate crime charges that would carry a mandatory life sentence – following the May attack at a Tops Market grocery store in a predominantly Black Buffalo neighborhood.
Gendron, who is scheduled to make a court appearance Monday, also faces separate federal hate crime charges that could carry the death penalty.
John Elmore, an attorney for the families of two of the victims, told The Associated Press that Gendron’s lawyers disclosed in recent weeks that he planned to plead guilty to all counts in the state indictment and waive his right to appeal.
BUFFALO SHOOTING SUSPECT PLEADS NOT GUILTY TO FEDERAL HATE CRIME CHARGES
Buffalo shooting suspect, Payton Gendron, who is accused of killing 10 people in a live-streamed supermarket shooting in Buffalo, New York, is escorted in the courtroom in shackles May 19. (Brendan McDermid)
Terrence M. Connors, who is representing relatives of seven of the victims, also told the AP that Gendron's lawyers also briefed him about the plan.
"We had known for some time that it is likely that on Monday, he will enter a plea of guilty to each and every count in the 25-count indictment, and that when sentencing comes, he will receive a sentence of life in prison without parole," Connors said.
Payton S. Gendron is seen in a booking photo from May 15, 2022 (Erie County District Attorney)
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Gendron drove about three hours to Buffalo from his home in Conklin, New York, to carry out the shooting. Shortly before opening fire with an AR-15-style rifle on May 14, he posted documents that outlined his White supremacist views and revealed he had been planning the attack for months.
President Biden and first lady Jill Biden look at a memorial in the wake of a weekend shooting at a Tops supermarket in Buffalo, New York, May 17, 2022. (REUTERS/Brendan McDermid)
The victims, who ranged in age from 32 to 86, included eight customers, a store security guard and a church deacon who drove shoppers to and from the store with their groceries. Three people were wounded but survived.
Fox News' Marta Dhanis, Michael Ruiz and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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