Arrested With 25 Charges, Perpetrators Of Mass Shooting In Buffalo New York That Killed 10 People Plead Not Guilty

Shooting illustration. (Unsplash/@hirmin)

JAKARTA - The perpetrator of the mass shooting at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York, United States that killed 10 people, pleaded not guilty to 25 charges in documents returned by a jury on Thursday.

The alleged shooter, Payton Gendron, appeared in court for an indictment hearing before Erie County Court Judge Susan Eagan, who ordered the 18-year-old to be held without bail, local media reported. He is scheduled to return to court on July 7.

According to Reuters, Gendron targeted black people, authorities said, as he drove three hours from his home near Binghamton, New York.

Armed with an assault-style semi-automatic rifle, Gendron opened fire at the Tops store in Buffalo on May 14. A total of 13 people were shot in the incident, with 10 of them dead.

The grand jury returned 25 charges on Wednesday. The first count, hate-motivated domestic terrorism, accused Gendron of carrying out attacks "because of the race and/or color of the person or persons" who were injured and killed. The charges carry a sentence of life in prison without parole.

Gendron is the first defendant to face charges under New York's domestic terrorism hate crimes statute, Erie District Attorney John Flynn said at a briefing following the indictment.

The legislation was proposed after a mass shooting targeting Mexicans at a Walmart store in El Paso, Texas, and goes into effect November 1, 2020.

In addition to the charges, Gendron also faces 10 counts of first-degree murder and 10 counts of second-degree murder, all as hate crimes. The grand jury, which decides whether there is enough evidence to bring the accused to justice, also returned three counts of attempted murder as a hate crime and one count of illegal possession of a gun.

"When you hear that phrase, throw the book at someone. Now, in this case, here, the defendant just got 'War and Peace,' said Flynn, referring to Leo Tolstoy's 1.200-page novel.

The gun accusation stems from the fact that the shooter modified the rifle to carry a larger magazine, Flynn said.

Meanwhile, Gendron's lawyer told Reuters he was complying with a court order and had no comment at this time.

Gendron posted videos of the attack on social media platforms in real time after posting white supremacist material online that suggested he drew inspiration from previous racially motivated mass killings, authorities said.

The shootings, along with last week's school massacre in Uvalde, Texas that killed 19 children and two teachers, have reignited a longstanding national debate over US gun laws.