Spotlight On Failure Of Mental Health System To Stop Accused Buffalo Shooter
Reports say the 18-year-old white man accused of a racially-motivated shooting spree had previously made threatening comments that resulted in a brief mental health hospitalization. Media outlets cover the possibility that a chance to avert the massacre was missed.
AP:
Buffalo Shooter's Prior Threat, Hospital Stay Face Scrutiny
The white gunman accused of committing a racist massacre at a Buffalo supermarket made threating comments that brought police to his high school last spring, but he was never charged with a crime and had no further contact with law enforcement after his release from a hospital, officials said. The revelation raised questions about whether his encounter with police and the mental health system was yet another missed opportunity to put a potential mass shooter under closer law enforcement scrutiny, get him help, or make sure he didn’t have access to deadly firearms. (Thompson and Balsamo, 5/16)
The New York Times:
Buffalo Shooting: Suspect Was Held For Mental Health Evaluation Last Year
Last spring, as the end of the academic year approached at Susquehanna Valley High School outside Binghamton, N.Y., students were asked for a school project about their plans after graduation. Payton Gendron, a senior, said he wanted to commit a murder-suicide, according to a law enforcement official briefed on the matter. He claimed to be joking, the official said. But the state police were summoned to investigate and took Mr. Gendron, then 17, into custody on June 8 under a state mental health law, police officials said Sunday. (Southall, Marcius and Newman, 5/15)
The attack is being investigated as a racially motivated hate crime —
Buffalo News:
Racist Manifesto Details Hateful Views, Methodical Planning Of Accused Gunman
Law enforcement officials who investigate mass shootings sometimes struggle to to find out what led the assailant to commit such heinous crimes. In the case of the man who they say perpetrated Saturday's assault that took the lives of 10 people and wounded three more, they did not have to look far. In chilling detail, the accused shooter laid out in a 180-page manifesto why he wanted to kill, how he came to believe a racist conspiracy theory and then recorded himself driving to a supermarket on Jefferson Avenue and carrying out the attack. (Watson and Michel, 5/15)
The Hill:
Biden Calls Hate ‘Stain On The Soul Of America’ In Aftermath Of Buffalo Shooting
President Biden on Sunday called on Americans to root out hatred after a gunman shot and killed 10 people in Buffalo, N.Y., in what police have deemed a racially motivated mass shooting. “We must all work together to address the hate that remains a stain on the soul of America,” Biden said during an address at the National Peace Officers’ Memorial Service outside the U.S. Capitol. (Chalfant, 5/15)
Politico:
'Lord, Forgive The Anger In My Heart': Hochul Vows To Battle Hate, Gun Violence After Buffalo Massacre
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul pledged to crack down on gun violence and the proliferation of online racism after a white man wearing military gear opened fire at a Buffalo supermarket, killing 10 people and wounding three others in an act being investigated as a hate crime. Hochul, speaking at True Bethel Baptist Church in her hometown of Buffalo on Sunday morning, told the congregation “this is personal to the Hochul family." "Lord, forgive the anger in my heart but channel that into my passion to continue to fight to protect people, get the guns off the streets and silence the voices of hatred and racism and white supremacy all over the internet,” she said. (Gronewold, 5/15)
The Hill:
Democrats Call For Action After Buffalo, Milwaukee Shootings: ‘It Doesn’t Have To Be This Way’
A number of lawmakers condemned what authorities said were racist motivations behind the Buffalo shooting and called for Congress to take action to try to reduce further gun violence. “My heart goes out to the victims’ loved ones, our emergency personnel and the entire Buffalo community. Racism, prejudice and hatred have no place in our state or our country,” Sen. Kristen Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) tweeted. “I pledge to the people of New York that I will continue to fight my hardest to pass commonsense gun safety measures and to confront and defeat the scourge of white supremacy.” (Lonas, 5/14)
