BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) – Standing in the same parking lot where he was shot in the neck a year ago in a racist attack at a Buffalo supermarket, Zaire Goodman said he was grateful to see the community come together to remember Sunday.
His family and others affected by the mass shooting gathered with top state and local officials, first responders and religious leaders to remember the 10 people who died and three, including Goodman, who were injured at the Tops Friendly Market. , which closes Sunday for one. -year anniversary of the shooting.
Goodman, 21, who worked at the store and was shot while collecting carts outside, has returned to the market several times since, even visiting while it was being remodeled in the weeks after the massacre as some questioned whether it was necessary. to open again.
“I just want to show people that it’s okay. There is no need to close shop forever,” he said. “We know the store is still important to people in this area.”
Mayor Byron Brown read the names of the 13 victims before a moment of silence. The first to answer then rang the bell 13 times. Brown, Gov. Kathy Hochul and US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer were among those who gave speeches.
“It’s a beautiful day. It’s Mother’s Day,” said Hochul. “And the cruel irony behind the truth is that a day we celebrate a life that came into the world, that made a person a mother, it’s another day we’re here to think about those who are no longer with us. It’s been hard. It’s been a hard year.”
Earlier in the week, panelists discussed ways to combat racism and radicalization on social media and residents were invited to reflect at an outdoor community gathering.
After Sunday’s ceremony, Goodman recalled how after he was injured he ran across the street to find safety, calling his mother on the way.
“Hey, you have to come here,” he told her.
Since then, Goodman’s mother, Zeneta Everhart, and other victims’ relatives have spoken before Congress. about white supremacy and gun reform and organizing events to address food insecurity that worsened when the market, the neighborhood’s only grocery store, was inaccessible for two months.
President Joe Biden honored the lives of those killed in Buffalo in an op-ed published Sunday in USA Today. He called on Congressional and state legislative leaders to act by banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, requiring background checks for all gun sales, and eliminating immunity to gun manufacturers from liability. His administration passed a landmark gun measure in June after a series of shootings.
New York state law already prohibits the possession of magazines that hold more than 10 bullets.
Gun control organizations and advocates including Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action held nearly 200 events across the country over the weekend, calling on Congress to reverse a bipartisan assault that firearms ban.
In Buffalo, Wayne Jones, whose mother Celestine Chaney, 65, died in the attack, urged the city and its institutions to continue investing in the area and its residents even after the anniversary.
That’s why he’s ready, he says, “to keep opening this wound of mine” and talk about it.
After the memorial ceremony, adults visited tents that offered information about mental health and other types of community support.
Rosemary Glover of Buffalo remembers the pain she felt when she recognized two of the names of the shooting victims: Katherine Massey, a community advocate; and Pearl Young, who belongs to the same ministry as Glover’s church. He came Sunday to honor them and the community.
“We have to continue to support each other,” he said. “That’s the only way we’re going to heal.”
The daughter of the 63-year-old shooting victim, Geraldine Talley, on Sunday released a book that she said describes what she went through after losing her mother. He captioned it: “5/14 : The Day the Devil Came to Buffalo.”
“I know for a fact that she didn’t want me to be consumed with grief and anger,” Talley said of her mother, speaking outside the store as the anniversary approached, “so I’m going to try to find strength in her memory.” and use. it is to fight injustice and racism throughout my life in his name.
Inside the renovated store, fountains set a poem dedicated to the victims. A commission is working to design a permanent outdoor memorial. Meanwhile, a hand-painted mural overlooking the parking lot promotes unity, with a Black hand and white hand meeting in prayer.
An 18-year-old white supremacist carried out the attack after driving more than 200 miles (320 kilometers) from his home in rural Conklin, New York.
Besides Chaney, Talley, Massey and Young, the dead included Andre Mackneil, who was buying a cake for his son’s third birthday; church deacon Heyward Patterson; Ruth Whitfield, whose son is a Buffalo fire commissioner; Roberta Drury, who returned to Buffalo to help a brother diagnosed with cancer; Margus Morrison, buying dinner for a family movie night; and Aaron Salter, a retired Buffalo police officer who worked as a security guard.
The gunman pleaded guilty to murder and other charges and was sentenced to life in prison without parole in February. A federal case against him is pending.
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Associated Press Writer Maysoon Khan from Albany, New York, contributed to this report.
