DOJ Wants Death Sentence for Tops Gunman

In a first for the Biden administration, the Justice Department has said that it will seek the death penalty for the gunman who murdered 10 people and wounded three in a racially motivated shooting at a Buffalo, N.Y., Tops store on May 14, 2022, as reported by various news outlets. In a court filing, the DOJ noted several reasons for this move, including the effect of the shooting on survivors and their families, and the intentional nature of the killings.

The shooter, Payton Gendron, was indicted in 2022 on 27 federal counts, among them murder, discharging a firearm and hate crimes. Last year, he was sentenced by a New York court to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

During the rampage, Roberta Drury, Pearl Young, Heyward Patterson, Ruth Whitfield, Celestine Chaney, Aaron Salter Jr., Andre Mackniel, Margus Morrison, Katherine Massey and Geraldine Talley were killed. While victims’ family members who spoke to NBC News were not in favor of the call for the death penalty, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul agreed with the move, referring to the deadly event as an “atrocity” in which “10 innocent people … were targeted simply because of the color of their skin.” Of the 13 people Gendron shot, 11 were Black and two were white. 

[Read more: “Training Grocery Store Employees on How to Respond to Active Shooters”]

In the aftermath of the shooting, Tops and the community surrounding the Jefferson Avenue store have worked toward healing. The store was closed immediately following the murders, undergoing a full renovation, including improved security features, before it reopened in July 2022. Additionally, the Williamsville, N.Y.-based grocer teamed with the nonprofit National Compassion Fund to establish the Buffalo 5/14 Survivors Fund to provide direct financial assistance to the survivors of those who lost their lives and people directly affected by the tragedy, and plans were later unveiled for a permanent memorial at the store. On the first anniversary of the killings, the store closed for the day.