Buffalo rampage suspect silent in court

BUFFALO, N.Y. — The white man accused of killing 10 Black people at a supermarket in Buffalo, N.Y., appeared in court Thursday, standing silently during a brief proceeding attended by some relatives of the victims after a grand jury indicted him.

Payton Gendron, 18, wore an orange jail uniform, a mask and handcuffs. As he was led out, someone shouted “Payton, you’re a coward!” from the courtroom gallery. He is being held without bail.

Assistant District Attorney Gary Hackbush said the first-degree murder indictment, which covers all 10 deaths, was handed up Wednesday.

Thirteen people were shot Saturday at the Tops Friendly Market in a predominantly Black neighborhood of Buffalo. Authorities are continuing to investigate the possibility of hatecrime and terrorism charges.

Relatives of several victims met with the Rev. Al Sharpton before joining him at a news conference outside Buffalo’s Antioch Baptist Church. Sharpton said his civil-rights group, the National Action Network, would cover funeral expenses for those killed in the attack.

“These hate crimes need to be stopped,” Sharpton said. “We need to hold all that have aided and abetted the hate in this country accountable.” He said the victims “were guilty of being Black.”

Gendron, 18, livestreamed the attack from a helmet camera before surrendering to police outside the grocery store. He had posted hundreds of pages of writings to online discussion groups in which he detailed his plans for the assault and his racist motivation.

At his initial court appearance last week, Gendron’s court-appointed lawyer entered a plea of innocent on his behalf. He is due back in court June 9.

Tops Market pledged to reopen the store as soon as possible.