Sources say an unidentified woman discovered that her daughter was killed in the Buffalo, New York supermarket shooting from a post on social media.
As previously reported by REVOLT, on Saturday (May 14), suspected gunman Payton S. Gendron allegedly opened fire in a Tops Friendly Markets store. The incident is classified as a racially motivated hate crime. During the attack, 11 Black people were shot.
The outlet says that the woman’s 30-year-old daughter had gone to the grocery store to get a few items and the mother wondered what was taking so long. According to reports, the woman said she saw a video on Facebook of her daughter being shot as she left the market. The woman waited for authorities to confirm details of the incident.
Reports stated that the shooter live-streamed the entire incident. A post from Insider revealed the attack was broadcasted over the platform Twitch and that the gunman wore a camera attached to his helmet. The suspect allegedly wore tactical gear during the killing spree.
The New York Times added that once Twitch became aware of the incident, they hurried to remove the videos from their platform within minutes, however, the video was already shared across other sites.
The unidentified mother is not alone in her loss. Among the victims of the deadly attack was a 65-year-old grandmother of six and breast cancer survivor Celestine Chaney. Chaney’s grandson Wayne Jones Jr. told CNN, “The whole family is devastated,” he said. “And it’s just a shock … you never expect something like this to happen to you … you just pray for everybody else with the trauma that they went through and now you’re living in it.”
Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown also praised one of the victims, retired police lieutenant Aaron Salter. Brown called the 55-year-old who gave his life to protect others during the shooting a “hero.”
The suspect was charged with first-degree murder. When Gendron appeared in court over the weekend, Buffalo City Court Chief Judge Craig Hannah said he pleaded not guilty.