(CNN) The 19-year-old White man who killed 10 people in a racist shooting at a grocery store in a predominantly Black area of Buffalo in May wept and said he regretted his actions as he was sentenced to life in prison during an emotional court hearing Wednesday.
“I am so sorry for all the pain I forced the victims and their families to endure. I am so sorry for stealing the lives of your loved ones. my actions on May 14,” Payton Gendron, wearing orange jumpsuit and chains, said the court.
“I did a terrible thing that day. I shot and killed people because they were Black. Looking back now, I can’t believe I actually did it. I believed what I read online and acted out of hate. I know I can’t take it back, but I want to be able to, and I don’t want anyone to be inspired by me and what I’m doing.”
The statement came during a state sentencing hearing for Gendron, who pleaded guilty in November to one count of domestic hate-motivated terrorism, 10 counts of first-degree murder, three counts of attempted murder of murder and a weapons charge of holding a mass shooting. at Tops Friendly Markets on May 14, 2022.
Several family members of the victims spoke emotionally Wednesday about how the mass shooting changed their lives. At one point, Gendron took off his glasses and cried during the testimony of the victims’ families.
Payton Gendron cried during his testimony in court on Wednesday, February 15.
Meanwhile, a man wearing a gray sweatshirt rushes at Gendron in the courtroom but is quickly blocked by security, and Gendron is removed from the courtroom.
After a short break, Gendron returned to court and Erie County Court Judge Susan Eagan resumed the hearing.
“We’re not going to get that in court,” Eagan said. “We have to make ourselves fit because we’re all better than that.”
In the end, the judge sentenced Gendron to life in prison on each of the terrorism and murder charges and offered him a stern reprimand.
“There is no place for you or your ignorant, hateful and evil ideologies in a civilized society,” he said. “There will be no mercy for you, no understanding, no second chance. The damage you have done is too great, and the people you have hurt are too precious to this community. You will never see the light of day as a free man again .”
Erie County District Attorney John J. Flynn said after court that the sentence puts legal closure on the case, but not on the broader issues.
“It certainly doesn’t put any closure on what we need to do as a society and a community moving forward,” Flynn said. “Justice is done with the little ‘j’ today, but we still have the big ‘J’ of Justice to do.”
Man rushed to Gendron during the victim’s statement
The attempted attack on Gendron came during a particularly intense victim impact statement by Barbara Mapps, the sister of Katherine Massey, a 72-year-old who was killed in the attack.
“I want to strangle you personally,” Mapps said in a loud voice. “Your little punk a** decided to come here to kill Black people.”
Flynn said the man will not be charged with a crime, explaining that he did not want to add to the tragedy.
Other victims’ families offered more poignant memories of their loved ones and criticisms of Gendron’s violent actions and hateful ideology. Many of the victims’ family members have stated that they want Gendron to be imprisoned for the rest of his life, instead of being sentenced to death, so that the shooter will suffer in his thoughts for the rest of his life.
“One day I hope you find it in your heart to apologize to the families,” Wayne Jones, Celestine Chaney’s son, said in court.
“I pray to God they don’t kill you,” said Brian Talley, a family member of the shooting victim Geraldine Talley. “You need to be known around the world … I forgive you, but I forgive you not for you, but for me and for this Black community.”
Christopher Braden, who said he was shot in the leg, said he saw dead bodies on the floor as he was taken from the supermarket to the hospital.
“The visions haunt me every day,” Braden said, adding that he continues to suffer from night terrors and post-traumatic stress disorder from the shooting.
Zeneta Everhart, whose son Zaire Goodman was shot and injured, said her son has survivor’s guilt.
“She’s dealing with pain that I can’t bear as a mother,” Everhart said. “That day this terrorist made the choice that the value of a Black man meant nothing to him… [Gendron] receive, it will never be enough.”
Michelle Spight, who said she lost her aunt and cousin in the shooting, said she hopes Gendron is a ghost every day and every night.
“You came to Buffalo with hatred and anger in your heart,” Spight said, also speaking for his other family members.
How we got here
On the afternoon of May 14, Gendron turned the source of the community’s needs into the crime scene.
Gendron was heavily armed and wearing tactical gear — including a tactical helmet and plated armor, police said at the time. He also livestreamed his actions with the camera.
Using an illegally modified semi-automatic rifle, the gunman shot four people outside the grocery store — three of whom died. He continued the massacre inside the store, shooting dead an armed security guard and eight others, six of whom did not survive.
The shooting traumatized the predominantly Black neighborhood of Masten Park on Buffalo’s east side. The area is a food desert and Tops Friendly Markets is the only supermarket in the neighborhood.
Gendron shot a total of 13 people, including 11 blacks and two whites, authorities said. All of the victims who were killed were Black.
Prosecutors argued that the terror that unfolded inside and outside the supermarket was rooted in Gendron’s racism against blacks. The evidence included social media posts and a lengthy document written by Gendron, revealing that he planned the attack and visited the supermarket several times before the massacre.
Gendron posted that he chose the Tops market as his target because it is located in Buffalo’s 14208 ZIP code which is home to the highest percentage of Black people near where he lives. in Conklin, New York.
In the document, he attributed the internet for many of his beliefs and described himself as a fascist, a White supremacist and an antisemite.
The shooter’s charges include New York’s first use of hate-motivated terrorism charges since it became available in 2020 under state law.
At the federal level, Gendron faces 10 counts of hate crime resulting in death, three counts of hate crime involving bodily harm, 10 counts of use of a weapon to kill during and in connection with a felony, and three counts of using and discharging a firearm during a felony, according to a criminal complaint.
He pleaded not guilty to the federal charges, which carries the potential for the death penalty.
In December, Gendron’s lawyers said during a court hearing that he was willing to plead guilty to the federal charges if prosecutors agreed to drop the death penalty as a penalty.
Correction: An earlier version of this story gave the wrong last name for Barbara Mapps.
CNN’s Sonia Moghe, Ray Sanchez, Kristina Sgueglia and Laura Ly contributed to this report.
