NBC New York reports:
Eight people are dead after a gunman entered a supermarket in Buffalo, New York, and opened fire Saturday afternoon, law enforcement sources said. The shooter entered the Tops Friendly Market on Jefferson Avenue shortly after 2:30 p.m. and shot at least eight people, those sources said.
An eighth person injured in the gunfire was said to be in critical condition. Sources said the suspected gunman entered the store carrying a rifle and wore military-style gear or a type of body armor. Public in the immediate vicinity has been asked to avoid the store while police investigate.
The first tweet below and the followup story by BNO News have not yet been confirmed by other outlets. I’ll update this post as more information emerges.
UPDATE: The Buffalo News reports:
A Buffalo police official at the scene and another source close to law enforcement confirmed the massacre at the supermarket. “It’s like walking onto a horror movie, but everything is real. It is Armageddon-like,” said the police official at the scene. “It is so overwhelming.”
One of the deceased was a recently retired Buffalo police officer who was working security at the store, both sources said.
The Buffalo News is withholding the retired officer’s identity because it could not be determined if his family had yet been notified. As many as five bodies were found in the parking lot, the onsite police official said.
BNO News reports:
Saturday’s attack was live-streamed on Twitch and screenshots from the recording showed horrific scenes, including a woman who is shot in the head as she walks outside the store. In other screenshots, victims can be seen on the floor of the supermarket.
A 106-page online manifesto, believed to have been uploaded by the shooter, explained that he was motivated by a conspiracy theory that white people are being replaced by other races. In the document, he says he is 18 years old and a self-described white supremacist and anti-semite.
Suspect in New York state mass shooting said in online manifesto that he was motivated by a conspiracy theory that white people are being replaced by other races https://t.co/PEZFzTpGlL
— BNO News (@BNONews) May 14, 2022
BREAKING: BPD on scene of a mass shooting at the Tops in the 1200 block of Jefferson Avenue. Police say multiple people have been struck by gunfire. The shooter is in custody. Motorists and residents are urged to avoid the area.
— Buffalo Police Dept (@BPDAlerts) May 14, 2022
Video purportedly from the scene of the mass shooting at the Tops store in Buffalo, NY shows police taking a 20 (possibly 30)-something white man dressed in fatigues into custody. pic.twitter.com/r2u8IUsNkd
— STEVE HUFF (@SteveHuff) May 14, 2022
Just got a call from a source briefed by law enforcement in Buffalo.
They confirmed the shooter is a known white supremacist and drove into town from Broome county targeting this grocery store knowing it was in a predominately Black area of town.
— Madison Carter (@madisonlcarter) May 14, 2022