Buffalo mass shooter “may have sent chilling messages to ex-federal agent BEFORE attack was carried out”

THE 18-year-old man who allegedly shot and killed 10 people at a Buffalo supermarket earlier this month may have tipped off a former federal agent about his violent plans on a white supremacist chat room.

Law enforcement officials say they are now investigating the ex-agent to determine whether he learned of Payton Gendron’s plans before they were carried out.   

Gendron, 18, allegedly wore tactical body armor and helmet as he entered the Tops Friendly Market in Buffalo with a rifle shortly after 2.30 pm on May 14 and opened fire.

Eerie County Sherrif John Garcia alleges that Gendron drove up to 200 miles over five hours to get to that specific area of New York, which is a predominately black community.

Now, unnamed law enforcement sources have told the that a retired federal agent was on a short list of people who received an invitation that would have allowed him to view the shooter’s plans about 30 minutes before the killing spree began.

According to the outlet, Gendron had been in regular contact with the former agent prior to the shooting through an online chat room that centered on racist and white supremacist discourse.

About a half hour before the first shots were fired, he allegedly sent invitations to six people to join a chat room where he detailed his violent plans, Buffalo News reports.

It is unclear if the agent accepted the invitation or read the plans.

The forewarning included the location of where he intended to carry out the attack.

“What is especially upsetting is that these six people received advanced notice of the Buffalo shooting, about 30 minutes before it happened,” one of the law enforcement sources told the Buffalo News.

They continued: "These were like-minded people who used this chat group to talk about their shared interests in racial hatred, replacement theory and hatred of anyone who is Jewish, a person of color or not of European ancestry.

“The FBI has verified that none of these people called law enforcement to warn them about the shooting.”

The former federal agent is believed to reside in Texas.

The media outlet said authorities are also looking into whether the retired officer had offered any insight to Gendron prior to the deadly shooting.