Suspect in the Buffalo mass shooting has been indicted on federal hate crime charges

https://www.npr.org/2022/07/14/ [login to see] /buffalo-mass-shooting-suspect-indicted-hate-crime-charges-tops-supermarket
The white gunman accused of targeting and killing 10 Black people and injuring three other individuals at a Buffalo, N.Y., supermarket was indicted by a federal grand jury on Thursday on hate crimes and firearm charges, according to the U.S. Justice Department.

Payton Gendron, now 19, is facing 27 counts — including 10 hate crimes resulting in death and three counts of hate crimes involving an attempt to kill, along with 13 counts of using, carrying or discharging a firearm — following the deadly racist attack at the Tops supermarket in a predominantly Black neighborhood.

"The Justice Department fully recognizes the threat that white supremacist violence poses to the safety of the American people and American democracy," Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a news release.

"We will continue to be relentless in our efforts to combat hate crimes, to support the communities terrorized by them, and to hold accountable those who perpetrate them," he added.

If convicted on all 27 counts, Gendron could face either the death penalty or a maximum sentence of life in prison without parole. The attorney general will decide at a later date on whether to seek the death penalty, according to the Justice Department.