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Payton Gendron, the White supremacist who massacred 10 Black people at the Tops Friendly Market in Buffalo, NY, was taken out of the courtroom on Wednesday after a man lunged at him.
The attempted attack occurred during Gendron’s sentencing hearing, as families of the victims addressed the mass shooter. He was ultimately sentenced to life in prison.
“You don’t know what we’re going through,” a man shouted at Gendron as he was escorted out of the courtroom, the Associated Press reported.
Gendron openly expressed his motive for killing Black people in Buffalo. In a published manifesto, he said he hoped the attack would help preserve White power in the country.
Man seeks his own justice against Buffalo White supremacist mass shooter
At his sentencing, he was expected to apologize to the families of the victims, an act that some speculate is an attempt to avoid the death penalty.
Families of Buffalo victims who appeared in court on Wednesday wore red and black. “Red for the blood that he shed for his family and for his community, and black because we are still grieving,” Kimberly Salter, widowed wife of slain security guard Aaron Salter, told the judge.
Gendron, 19, was armed in bullet resistant armor and a helmet carrying a livestream as he recorded his planned attack on Black residents living their lives. His weapon reportedly had the n-word written on it as he targeted the unsuspecting shoppers.
Organizations rallied around the community following the racial terror attack, as long-time gun safety advocate Katherine “Kat” Massey was slain by in the mass shooting.
Even as the latest White supremacist killer faces justice, the trauma inflicted on the Black community continues to compound, with no healing in sight.
“We love our kids. We never go in y’alls neighborhood and take people out,” a victim’s relative shouted at Gendron shortly before a man lunged at him.
Gendron also faces separate federal charges that could carry the death penalty if Attorney General Merrick Garland chooses to pursue it.