On May 14, 2022, a mass shooting occurred in Buffalo, New York, United States, at a Tops Friendly Markets supermarket in the East Side neighborhood. Ten people, all of whom were black, were murdered, and three people were injured. The perpetrator, 18-year-old Payton Gendron, livestreamed part of the attack on Twitch until the livestream was shut down by the service in under two minutes.
Gendron was inspired to carry out the attack after learning about numerous white supremacist mass murderers through 4chan during isolation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. His main inspiration was Brenton Tarrant, the perpetrator of the Christchurch mosque shootings, who also livestreamed his attack online. After reading Tarrant's manifesto, Gendron came to believe that it was his role in life to commit a similar attack to prevent an "uprising" against white people. He was taken into custody and charged with over 25 counts, including first-degree murder and terrorism. He pled not guilty to all of the charges on May 19.
On November 28, 2022, Gendron pleaded guilty to all state charges in the shooting, including murder, domestic terrorism, and hate crimes in an attempt to avoid the death penalty. On February 15, 2023, Gendron was sentenced to 11 concurrent life sentences without the possibility of parole. His federal trial is set to begin on October 13, 2026, and the federal prosecution has expressed their intention to seek the death penalty.
Gendron had written a manifesto describing himself as an ethno-nationalist and a supporter of white supremacy who was motivated to commit acts of political violence. He voiced support for the Great Replacement conspiracy theory in the context of a white genocide. The attack has been described as an act of domestic terrorism, and it is also being investigated as a hate crime which was motivated by racism. Governor Kathy Hochul promised policy changes in the state as a result of the attack while condemning the shooter; shortly afterwards, the state of New York banned most semi-automatic sales to people under 21 and certain types of body armor. On March 19, 2024, a New York state judge ruled Reddit and YouTube must face lawsuits in connection with the mass shooting over accusations that they played a role in the radicalization of the shooter.
At around 2:30 p.m. EDT (UTC−04:00), Gendron arrived at the Tops supermarket on Jefferson Avenue, in a predominantly black neighborhood in Buffalo, New York. He was armed with a Bushmaster XM-15 AR-15–style rifle, illegally modified to accept high-capacity magazines, and had multiple 30-round magazines. In his car, he had a Savage Arms Axis XP hunting rifle and a Mossberg 500 shotgun. He was wearing body armor, a military helmet, and a recording camera attached to his helmet through which he livestreamed the attack on the online service Twitch. As he approached the grocery store entrance, he said "Just got to go for it."
Gendron first shot four people in the parking lot, killing three. He then entered the store, shooting eight more people and killing six. At 2:31 p.m., Buffalo police received a call reporting shots fired at the store. The first responding officers and firefighters arrived a minute later and reported bodies lying outside the building. At 2:34 p.m., a dispatcher started informing responding officers of an active shooter situation at the store.
According to a law enforcement source, Gendron yelled racial slurs during the incident. Many employees and customers used the store's break room to hide from Gendron and barricaded the door with a heavy desk. Other customers were hidden by employees in the milk cooler and said Gendron shot through the coolers, but the milk cartons stopped the bullets. At some point, an armed security guard, former Buffalo Police Department officer Aaron Salter Jr., shot at him. Due to Gendron's body armor, Salter's bullet did not stop him. Gendron returned fire at Salter, who died at the scene. At an early point in the shooting, Gendron aimed his rifle at an injured white person, the store manager, hiding behind a checkout counter but he apologized and did not shoot.
By 2:36 p.m., Gendron had gone to the front of the building, where patrol officers were able to talk him into dropping his gun after he reportedly aimed it at his neck. Here, Gendron was stripped of his body armor and arrested in front of the store as onlookers watched. A total of 60 shots were fired during the shooting. After his arrest, Gendron made statements regarding his motive and state of mind.
Thirteen people—eleven of them black and two white—were shot, ten fatally. One of them, 55-year-old Aaron Salter Jr., was a former Buffalo Police lieutenant who was working as a security guard when he confronted Gendron. In addition to Salter, the people fatally shot were Celestine Chaney, 65; Roberta A. Drury, 32; Andre Mackneil, 53; Katherine Massey, 72; Margus D. Morrison, 52; Heyward Patterson, 67; Geraldine Talley, 62; Ruth Whitfield, 86; and Pearl Young, 77.
Four victims were employees of the store, including Salter; the other three survived. All ten who died were black.
Dozens of residents held a vigil at the supermarket the day after the shooting. True Bethel Baptist Church held a mourning service nearby, which was attended by families of the victims and some of those who survived the attack. A moment of silence was held at game one of the 2022 National Lacrosse League playoffs eastern semifinals being held in Buffalo, between the Toronto Rock and Buffalo Bandits, and the proceeds of the 50/50 raffle were donated to the victims' families. Bandits head coach John Tavares told the media after his team's victory that the athletes played "definitely with a heavy heart" given the circumstances. A charity softball game at Sahlen Field featuring members of the Buffalo Bills held a moment of silence prior to the event and donated a portion of the proceeds to victims' families. The Buffalo Bisons added a black decal with the date of the tragedy to the back of their batting helmets to honor the victims of the tragedy for the remainder of the season. The Toronto Blue Jays, the Bisons' Major League parent team, also held a moment of silence prior to their game against the Seattle Mariners on May 16.
The Tops' closure after the shooting slowed food access in the East Side, where it was the only supermarket since it opened in 2003. Organizations inside and outside the community started programs to fill its absence, distributing and delivering food and clothing to residents. Tops provided free shuttle service to another location and pledged to send refrigerated food trucks daily. The company later stated that it would reopen the store on July 15, with a memorial honoring the victims.
Erie County Sheriff John Garcia said the shooting was a "straight up racially motivated hate crime from somebody outside of our community". Stephen Belongia, the head of the local FBI office, told reporters that the agency was investigating the shooting as both a hate crime and an act of racially motivated violent extremism. Police arrested Gendron and transported him to Buffalo Police Headquarters, with police reporting him to be in custody by about 2:36 p.m. Gendron's parents were interviewed by federal agents.
According to the Buffalo police commissioner, they uncovered information that if he escaped the supermarket, he had plans to continue his attack. The county's district attorney said he had evidence that Gendron was motivated by racial animosity. According to law enforcement sources who spoke to The Buffalo News, they were investigating Gendron's alleged contact with a number of people online, including a retired federal agent, and whether these individuals had thirty minutes of advance notice of the attack yet did not notify the authorities.
A separate investigation into the conduct of a 911 operator during the shooting began on May 15. An assistant manager at the Tops store reportedly called 911 and spoke to the dispatcher in a whisper, in order to avoid detection by Gendron. The employee was then reportedly shouted at by the dispatcher, who wondered aloud why the woman was whispering and then allegedly hung up on her. The Office of the Erie County Executive announced the dispatcher was placed on administrative leave and was then fired after a disciplinary hearing.