President Biden late Saturday called for an end to “hate-fueled domestic terrorism” after a gunman opened fire in a Buffalo, N.Y. supermarket hours earlier, killing 10 people.
Biden in a statement said acts of domestic terrorism are “antithetical” to U.S. values.
“Any act of domestic terrorism, including an act perpetrated in the name of a repugnant white nationalist ideology, is antithetical to everything we stand for in America. Hate must have no safe harbor,” Biden wrote. “We must do everything in our power to end hate-fueled domestic terrorism.”
Thirteen people were shot on Saturday when a gunman fired in a Tops Friendly Market in Buffalo. Ten people died and three others were injured but are expected to survive.
Eleven of the 13 people shot were Black. The incident is being investigated as a hate crime.
Erie County Sheriff John Garcia on Saturday called the shooting a “straight-up racially motivated hate crime.”
Police said the alleged gunman, 18-year-old Payton Gendron of Conklin, N.Y., who is white, drove hours to arrive at the Tops Friendly Market, which is located in a predominantly Black neighborhood. The shooter was wearing military gear and live streamed the incident on Twitch from a helmet camera.
Gendron was arraigned on Saturday night and charged with one count of first-degree murder.
Biden on Saturday said that while authorities are still searching for information on the motivations behind the attack, it is clear that hate crimes driven by race are “abhorrent to the fabric of this nation.”
“We still need to learn more about the motivation for today’s shooting as law enforcement does its work, but we don’t need anything else to state a clear moral truth: A racially motivated hate crime is abhorrent to the very fabric of this nation,” Biden wrote.
He called the shooting “horrific.”
“Tonight, we grieve for the families of ten people whose lives were senselessly taken and everyone who is suffering the physical and emotional wounds of this horrific shooting,” the president wrote.
“We are grateful for the bravery of members of law enforcement and other first responders who took immediate action to try to protect and save lives. The First Lady and I are praying for the victims and their families, and hearts all across this country are with the people of Buffalo,” he added.
–Updated at 8:09 a.m.