In their investigation of Saturday’s mass-casualty horror, FBI agents and New York State troopers interviewed the parents of Buffalo shooting suspect Payton Gendron Sunday, and also executed other search warrants.
“From what I’ve been told, they’re absolutely distraught and devastated,” Buffalo Police Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia said of the parents, according to Fox News.
The #FBI Buffalo investigation into the shooting at Tops is continuing this morning. We send our condolences to the family, friends, and colleagues of those impacted by the shooting.
Anyone with tips or videos from the incident can upload them here: https://t.co/kSr8BbHEDJ pic.twitter.com/574mHlwoQW
— FBI Buffalo (@FBIBuffalo) May 15, 2022
The NY Post reports:
The FBI is interviewing accused Buffalo shooter Payton Gendron’s parents, who both work as civil engineers with the state Department of Transportation, according to law-enforcement sources and online records.
The couple, Paul and Pamela Gendron, are cooperating with investigators, sources added to AP.
Photos at the home Sunday showed agents sifting through items in a large shed on the property.
Fox News meanwhile detailed what information investigators are looking at:
Gramaglia told reporters investigators were in the process of obtaining and executing search warrants on Gendron’s home, his vehicle, his social media activity, digital footprint and technology, including telephones and a computer.
Asked if investigators believe there were any other individuals involved, Gramaglia tells reporters: “This investigation is showing that he did this by himself. We are again looking into some other aspects that we’re not going to get into.”
The top cop further noted that law enforcement agents have obtained warrants and will continue to do so “both on the state and the federal levels.”
Investigators have so far found at least three weapons. “There were two in the car and one in his possession,” Gramaglia said, adding, “One was a rifle, one was a shotgun… he had an AR-15.”
The 18-year-old suspect reportedly traveled 200 miles from the family’s home in Conklin, NY, to the Buffalo Tops Friendly Market on Saturday afternoon. As RedState reported, he had also cased the store Friday and had an “astonishing” conversation with a witness.
Mourners gathered Sunday around the area of the Tops supermarket and erected multiple memorials.
A very somber feeling this morning, nearly 15 hours after the mass shooting, at Tops on Jefferson Ave in #Buffalo.
A memorial remains across the street with flowers and candles, honoring those ten lives lost. @news4buffalo pic.twitter.com/Gb8YusxWSy
— Gabrielle Mediak (@GabrielleMediak) May 15, 2022
The attack is being investigated as a hate crime, as the alleged shooter has visited extremist websites and apparently wrote a twisted 180-page manifesto. The FBI has since created a webpage dedicated to any tips related to the Saturday attack. Anyone with information related to the attack is asked to call 1-800-CALL-FBI(1-800-225-5324).
President Joe Biden earlier on Sunday spoke about the shooting at the annual National Peace Officers Memorial Service at the White House:
A lone gunman, armed with weapons of war and a hate-filled soul, shot and killed 10 innocent people, in cold blood at a grocery store on Saturday afternoon. Jill and I, like all of you, pray for the victims and their families and the devastating community.
The President and First Lady will travel Tuesday to Buffalo, New York, “to grieve with the community that lost ten lives in a senseless and horrific mass shooting,” the White House announced Sunday.
Lastly, we remember the victims of this tragedy. RedState’s Nick Arama painted a moving portrait of some that have been identified so far.
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