On Monday, a self-described white supremacist teenager, Payton Gendron admitted to killing ten black people in a supermarket shooting in May in New York, United States.
Payton Gendron, 19, will now serve the remainder of his life behind bars. According to AFP, the adolescent admitted guilt to 10 counts of first-degree murder and three counts of attempted murder, as well as one first-degree state charge of domestic terrorism motivated by hate.
Gendron is the first individual to be accused under a recently passed New York state law
According to Reuters, Gendron is the first individual to be accused under a recently passed New York state law. According to Democrat and Chronicle, the law went into effect in late 2020, and a first-degree domestic charge carries a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Speaking with the press “While justice has been accomplished, nothing will ever bring back the 10 beautiful people who lost their lives on that day,” Erie County District Attorney John Flynn said of Gendron’s plea of guilty to all charges.
The “legal closure will provide the families and the victims some measure of relief,” he hoped. Due to federal allegations of hate crime brought against him, Gendron could potentially receive the death penalty.
He travelled 200 miles from his home in Conklin with the goal of killing as many black individuals
According to AFP, the teen’s attack was motivated by hate and was planned over months. It was directed specifically at the Tops Friendly Market in Buffalo because of the significant African-American population there and its surrounding area.
Prosecutors asserted throughout the court that Payton travelled 200 miles (320 kilometres) from his home in Conklin with the goal of killing as many black individuals as he could.
The self-described white nationalist opened fire on innocent consumers in the supermarket while brandishing an AR-15 assault rifle and wearing body armour. He broadcast the footage of the attack on May 14 live on the social media site Twitch.