Federal charges are being filed against the 18-year-old accused of fatally shooting 10 people at the Tops store on Jefferson Avenue.
The U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York has filed a 26-count criminal complaint against Payton Gendron. Here are the charges:
hate crime resulting in death (10 counts)
hate crime involving bodily injury and attempt to kill (3 counts)
use of a firearm to commit murder during and in relation to a crime of violence (10 counts)
use and discharge of a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence (3 counts)
If convicted of the federal charge of use of a firearm to commit murder during and in relation to a crime of violence, the alleged shooter could face the death penalty.
In the criminal complaint, federal officials allege that his motive was to “prevent Black people from replacing white people and eliminating the white race, and to inspire others to commit similar attacks.”
“After Gendron killed Victim 7, he turned and aimed his rifle at a white male Tops employee (‘Victim 8’), who, at some point during the attack, had been shot in the leg and injured. Rather than shooting him, Gendron said, ‘Sorry,’ to Victim 8, before moving on through the rest of the store in search of more Black people to shoot and kill,” the complaint read.
On the rifle used in the crime, federal officials say there were writings, including racial slurs and names of others who have committed mass shootings. Along with that, it is alleged that “Here’s your reparations!” and ‘The Great Replacement” were written on the gun.
Previously, the accused shooter was already indicted on 25 other counts:
Yorumlar