Buffalo supermarket shooting suspect expected to plead guilty in court

(BUFFALO, N.Y.) — Alleged Buffalo supermarket shooter Payton Gendron is expected to plead guilty to state charges Monday morning.

Gendron fatally shot 10 Black people at a Tops supermarket in a predominantly Black community “because of the perceived race and/or color” of the victims, according to the indictment by the Erie County district attorney.

Gendron is charged with carrying out a “domestic act of terrorism motivated by hate” along with 10 counts of murder in the first degree, 10 counts of murder in the second degree as a hate crime, three counts of attempted murder as a hate crime and one count of criminal possession of a weapon.

He is the first to be charged with domestic terrorism motivated by hate in New York under a 2020 statute, which was implemented following an El Paso, Texas, shooting targeting Latinos in 2019.

“That charge only has one sentence if the defendant is found guilty of that charge: life in prison without parole,” Erie County District Attorney John Flynn said at the time the indictment was unsealed.

He has been charged by federal prosecutors with a total of 26 counts of committing a hate crime resulting in death and a hate crime involving bodily injury. He’s also charged with using a firearm to commit murder during a crime of violence. In July, Gendron’s public defender entered a not guilty plea on his behalf.

White supremacist rhetoric online, including the promotion of racist conspiracy theories, has been linked to Gendron and his alleged motive behind the Buffalo attack, ABC News has previously reported.

The families of Buffalo victims are expected to speak following the hearing.

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