The young white supremacist accused of having perpetrated a racist massacre last May by murdering 10 black people in a supermarket in Buffalo, upstate New York, pleaded guilty this Monday to racist murders and acts of terrorism before the court of the New York State.
He “pleaded guilty to the charges” contained “in the indictment,” prosecutor John Flynn announced shortly after the hearing before an Erie County court, recalling the “racist” nature of these crimes, “fueled by ideology white supremacist and deliberately targeting blacks.”
After this judicial step, Payton Gendron, 18 years old at the time of the massacre, on May 14, “incurs life imprisonment without the possibility of parole upon being sentenced on Wednesday, February 15, 2023,” before the state court. of New York, the prosecutor added in a statement. But he, too, is indicted in federal court, where he theoretically faces the death penalty.
A massacre broadcast on Twitch
During his press conference, the prosecutor recalled that the young man, detained since May, had meticulously prepared his actions, and that he was equipped, in addition to an AR-15 type semi-automatic rifle, with a portable camera to film his actions. killing and streaming it on the social network Twitch.
“Even if justice has been served, nothing will bring back the ten beautiful people who lost their lives that day,” John Flynn said. “Let’s hope that the judicial term (of the case) provides some relief to the families and the victims,” he added.
The victims were between the ages of 20 and 86.
In his posts and in a racist, supremacist and conspiracy manifesto attributed to him, Payton Gendron had written several months before the massacre that he wanted to kill black people and that he was targeting a poor and isolated Buffalo neighborhood due to its high proportion of of Africans. American people. He, too, had made a reconnaissance trip before the massacre in Buffalo, 300 km north of his home.
The list of massacres in the United States grows
The carnage had been a new shock to the United States, doubled just ten days later by another massacre with a semi-automatic rifle perpetrated by an 18-year-old youth, who had killed 19 children and two teachers at a school in Uvalde. , texas
These murders, the list of which has grown ever since, have reignited the recurring debate about the lack of gun regulation in the United States, but so far Democratic President Joe Biden has failed to get Congress to ban assault rifles like the AR- 15, due to Republican opposition.
After the Buffalo massacre, the state of New York, the fourth most populous in the United States (almost 20 million inhabitants), governed by Democrat Kathy Hochul, raised the age to obtain a semi-automatic rifle, from 18 to 21 years. .
According to the Gun Violence Archive, more than 600 mass shootings (at least four people killed or injured) have taken place in the United States since the beginning of this year. About 49,000 people died of gunshot wounds in the United States in 2021, up from 45,000 in 2020, which was already a record year. This represents more than 130 deaths per day, more than half of which are suicides.
Source: BFM TV
