Buffalo Mass Shooting: Mom Learns Daughter Died in Racist Attack on Facebook; Fire Chief's Mom Also a Victim

Buffalo Mass Shooting Tops Friendly Market Buffalo new york Payton Gendron Black Americans Ruth Whitfield Ex-Fire Commissioner's Mom Garnell Whitfield Mayor Byron W. Brown Conklin new york New York Gov. Kathy Hochul Pamela and Paul Gendron parents of Buffalo mass shooter Buffalo City Court

By Lili Scott , Parent Herald May 17, 11:36 am

Photo: (Photo : Scott Olson/Getty Images)

The mother of one of the victims of the Buffalo mass shooting found out about her daughter's death while scrolling through Facebook, when a video of a young woman getting shot in a local supermarket popped up on her timeline.

According to the New York Post, the unnamed mom asked her daughter, who was in her 30s, to go to the Tops Friendly Market for the usual errand. While waiting for her daughter, the mom watched in horror as she saw the graphic video of the supermarket shooting on Facebook.

Shooter, Payton Gendron, 18 years old, live-streamed his attack via Twitch but the streaming platform immediately shut down the feed. In the aftermath of the Buffalo mass shooting, 10 people died and several others were wounded. Many of them were Black Americans.

Ruth Whitfield, Ex-Fire Commissioner's Mom, Also Killed

Gendron also killed the mother of Garnell Whitfield, the former Buffalo Fire Commissioner. Ruth Whitfield, 86 years old, stopped by Tops Friendly Market to grab some food after she visited her husband in a nursing home.

The commissioner told Buffalo News that they have not yet disclosed the death of their mother to their father, Garnell Sr. The commissioner said that his mother never misses a visit to their dad but they don't know how to break this devasting news as his mother was his father's everything.

Mayor Byron W. Brown denounced the Buffalo mass shooting and decried the lax rules against gun ownership and internet regulation, especially when it comes to hate speech. Brown also condemned the fact that the gunman took a trip to the supermarket in the city to "take as many Black lives as possible." Gendron lives in Conklin, New York, a more than a three-hour drive to Buffalo.

Reports cited that Gendron wrote and posted a hate-filled manifesto against the Black population prior to his attack. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said that Gendron's gun ownership was legal but he made illegal modifications to the firearm.

#PaytonGendron murdered 10 people and injured 3 in a predominantly black neighborhood. 11 of the victims were black and 2 were white.

He drove 200 miles from his home to carry out his racist attack.

And, oh yeah, he pleaded not guilty at arraignment.
The face of pure evil. pic.twitter.com/vr8DVCShfb
— Maurice Ash (@ItsMauriceAsh) May 15, 2022

Payton Gendron's Parents Cooperating with Police

Meanwhile, the shooter's parents, Pamela and Paul Gendron, are said to be cooperating with the investigations. Friends of the family told CNN that they were not aware of any incident where the parents showed hateful and racist views. They often see Pamela walking around the neighborhood and she was regarded as a "nice woman." Thus, they couldn't understand how Payton could carry out the attack.

But the 18-year-old's schoolmates at the Susquehanna Valley Central High School said that he has made non-racially motivated threats before. He was evaluated for his mental health and stayed at a facility for a day and a half. Payton also had school projects related to murder or suicide, or both. Neighbors said that Payton wasn't the type to speak out and he was quite the loner though not the violent type.

The young man was arraigned before the Buffalo City Court on the night following his attack and entered a plea of not guilty. The Buffalo mass shooter may face life imprisonment without parole. He has been on suicide watch while under custody.