The White man who pled guilty to killing 10 Black people and wounding three others in a hate-fueled mass shooting at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York, last year is expected to be sentenced Wednesday to life in prison.
Payton Gendron is scheduled to be read his punishment in Erie County Court after pleading guilty in November to charges including murder and domestic terrorism motivated by hate, which carries an automatic life sentence.
Gendron, now 19, wore bullet-resistant armor and a helmet equipped with a livestreaming camera as he carried out the May 14, 2022, attack at the Tops Friendly Market.
He killed his victims with a semiautomatic rifle that was purchased legally but then modified so he could load it with high-capacity ammunition magazines that are illegal in New York.
BUFFALO MASS SHOOTING SUSPECT PAYTON GENDRON PLEADS GUILTY TO ALL STATE CHARGES
Gendron’s victims included a church deacon, the grocery store's guard, a neighborhood activist, a man shopping for a birthday cake, a grandmother of nine and the mother of a former Buffalo fire commissioner. They ranged in age from 32 to 86.
Authorities said Gendron drove about three hours to Buffalo from his home in Conklin, New York, to carry out the shooting. Shortly before opening fire, he posted documents that outlined his White supremacist views and revealed he had been planning the attack for months.
MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY GUNMAN HAD FELONY WEAPON CHARGE DROPPED IN 2019
In those documents, Gendron said he hoped the attack would help preserve White power in the U.S. and that he picked the Tops grocery store because it was in a predominantly Black neighborhood, according to The Associated Press.
When he pled guilty in November, Gendron's attorney Brian Parker said, "This critical step represents a condemnation of the racist ideology that fueled his horrific actions on May 14."
Gendron also faces separate federal charges that could carry a death sentence if the U.S. Justice Department chooses to seek it. He has pleaded not guilty to those charges.
In a December hearing, defense attorney Sonya Zoghlin said Gendron is prepared to enter a guilty plea in federal court in exchange for a life sentence.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
