Buffalo shooting suspect Payton Gendron ‘threatened to open fire at school graduation’ as chilling new details emerge
NEW details are emerging surrounding the Buffalo mass shooting suspect's reported history of making violent threats.
Payton Gendron, 18, had sparked a police investigation in June 2021 after reportedly making violent threats toward other students at his high school.
School officials called police in Broome county to alert them of Gendron's threats of violence.
He had reportedly spoken about carrying out a shooting at a graduation ceremony or at a similar event, according to .
The school officials described the alleged shooter as a "very troubled young man," leading state police to investigate him under a section of mental health laws.
He was then referred for a mental health evaluation and counseling.
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During a press conference, Buffalo Police Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia said Gendron was held at a local hospital for about a day and a half last year before being released.
Gramaglia continued to explain since the alleged shooter was released and the threats were "general," he was not on the "radar" of local or state police, or the FBI.
On Saturday, cops were filmed cuffing Gendron who was dressed in full tactical body armor, following reports that a gunman had opened fire at the grocery store.
Eerie County Sherrif John Garcia explained that Gendron allegedly drove up to five hours to get to that specific area of New York, which is a predominately black community.
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Gendron is from Conklin, about 200 miles southeast of Buffalo, according to law enforcement.
He is accused of shooting thirteen people in total, killing ten, and wounding three others.
Buffalo police entered the store and confronted the suspect, Gramaglia said at a news conference.
Gramaglia told reporters: “At that point, the suspect put the gun to his own neck. Buffalo police personnel -- two patrol officers -- talked the suspect into dropping the gun."
"He dropped the gun, took off some of his tactical gear, and surrendered at that point. And he was led outside, put in a police car."
Due to these actions, Gendron has been placed on suicide watch and is being held away from other inmates, says Gramaglia.
Police said he was heavily armed and wearing tactical gear along with a camera used to live-stream the bloody shooting on the social media platform Twitch.
Twitch did not respond to a request for comment at the time of publication. However, in a statement, the company said it removed the live stream two minutes after it started, reported.
"We are devastated to hear about the shooting that took place this afternoon in Buffalo, New York. Our hearts go out to the community impacted by the tragedy," the statement said.
"The user has been indefinitely suspended from our service, and we are taking all appropriate action, including monitoring for any accounts rebroadcasting this content."
A deranged 180-page racist manifesto allegedly authored by the suspect has also been circulating, which has not been independently verified by The Sun.
The rifle used was legal to buy in , but it was modified illegally in , according to reports.
The weapon also reportedly had a racial slur written on the barrel.
IN COURT
Authorities worked to quickly get the 18-year-old suspect arraigned on Saturday night. During the court appearance, he wore a paper gown and a mask and was barefoot.
Gendron's lawyer told the judge his client was pleading not guilty to the charge of murder in the first degree and requested a forensics exam. The judge denied bail.
After the hearing, Gendron's lawyer told he was assigned to represent Gendron by the courts.
He will be back in the courtroom on Thursday morning.
The crime is being investigated as a case of racially motivated violent extremism, according to New York governor Kathy Hochul.
As it stands, the highest punishment that could be handed down by the state of New York is life in prison without parole.
During a press conference, Garcia called the gun rampage a targeted killing that was "pure evil," while Mayor Byron Brown decried it as "the worst nightmare" the community could face.
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"This person was pure evil," an emotional Erie County Sheriff John Garcia told reporters. "It was a straight-up racially motivated hate crime from somebody outside of our community."
Officials said 11 of the victims were black and two were white.
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