How old was Payton Gendron during the racist supermarket shooting? Gunman receives death penalty

Payton Gendron, a white supremacist, who killed ten African American people in a supermarket, will soon face the death penalty from federal prosecutors in the United States. The incident happened at a Tops Supermarket in Buffalo, New York, in May 2022. He also live-streamed the entire event.

Trigger warning: This article contains mentions of sho*ting. Readers' discretion is advised.

In a court filing on Friday, January 12, 2024, the Justice Department made an official statement and informed everyone about the same.

Payton Gendron was 19 years old at the time of the incident. Gendron, now 20 years old, also entered a guilty plea to state charges of murder and hate-motivated domestic terrorism for the identical crime in February of last year. Following the event, he was immediately given a life sentence without the possibility of release.

Furthermore, as per sources like ABC News, a recent court filing states that the US Department of Justice is seeking the death penalty for Payton Gendron for his federal hate crimes.

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Payton Gendron, who was already serving a life sentence, receives death penalty for killing 10 African-American people

Payton Gendron has been charged with hate crimes (Images via X/@simonateba/@Texas_SeoulGal)

Wearing full body armor and carrying an AR-15 assault rifle, Payton Gendron had driven from his hometown of Conklin to Buffalo on May 14, 2022. Buffalo is more than 322 kilometers or 200 miles away from Conklin.

According to Al Jazeera, prosecutors said that before going inside the grocery store, he shot four people in the parking lot, and three of them were fatally wounded. Payton Gendron was wearing a helmet equipped with a camera, which he used to broadcast the two-minute shooting video live on Twitch.

Eight customers, the store security officer, and a church deacon were among the 10 people who were killed. The deacon used to take the customers to and from the store with their supplies. As per reports from the same source, the victims’ ages ranged from 32 to 86. Additionally, three other people were hurt, but they made it out alive.

As per the Guardian, Trini Ross, the US attorney for the Western District of New York, announced in a notice the decision to pursue the death penalty for Payton Gendron. Ross further stated in the same notice that Gendron had chosen the grocery store "to maximize the number of Black victims.”

The notice then went on to list a number of other contributing factors, such as the extensive planning that preceded the shooting and the choice to target at least one victim who was "particularly vulnerable due to old age and infirmity."

Payton Gendron pleaded guilty in November 2022 to state charges, including murder and domestic terrorism motivated by hate. It was a felony that carried an automatic life sentence.

On the other hand, as per ABC News, federal prosecutors, in their brief, listed the reasons they think the death penalty is appropriate. They said:

“Gendron intentionally killed Roberta Drury, Pearl Young, Hayward Patterson, Ruth Whitfield, Celestine Chaney, Aaron W Salter Jr., Andre Mackniel, Marcus Morrison, Katherine Massey, and Geraldine Talley.”

Although the death penalty is not available in New York, the justice department was able to request the death sentence in a different federal hate crimes prosecution. However, Gendron had pledged to enter a guilty plea if the prosecution decided not to pursue the death penalty.

Furthermore, as per ABC News, when prosecutor Joe Tripi officially informed the judge on Friday that the government intended to charge the shooter with hate crimes and seek the death penalty, Gendron was not present in court. Judge Lawrence Vilardo ordered Gendron to appear in court shortly, despite the defense's waiver of his appearance.

His next court date is February 2, 2024.