TW: Buffalo Terrorist Attack

“We need to hold all that have aided and abetted the hate in this country accountable,”

“The carnage at the Tops supermarket was

unsettling even in a nation that has become

almost numb to mass shootings. Gendron's online writings said he planned the assault after becoming infatuated with white supremacist ideology he encountered online.”

Since Javee’s post was deleted and I haven’t seen any other posts on the terrorist attack that took place in Buffalo, targeting Black people in a predominantly Black community to “terrorize all non-white, non-Christian people and get them to

leave the country” , I wanted to bring the conversation back.

-The first quote I posted was from Rev. Sharpton. He says a lot in a few words. Aside from the terrorist himself, who do you believe needs to be held accountable for the hate that motivated this massacre? In what ways would you like to see those accountable held accountable?

-The second quote is from a newspaper article in Toronto. Do you agree that the nation has gone numb to mass shootings? Have you gone numb? How are you feeling about this? Hopefully we can also use this space to come together and express ourselves and feelings that needs expressing.

—

The victims who were brutally murdered while grocery shopping in Buffalo because of White Supremacist hate:

• Roberta A. Drury, 32, of Buffalo

A vibrant and outgoing woman who would strike up a conversation with anyone. She moved to Buffalo to help care for her brother, his family and restaurant when received a bone marrow transplant there to treat his leukaemia.

• Margus D. Morrison, 52, of Buffalo

A father of 3 and husband who was a wonderful person and always ready to help anyone in need. He spent his time working as a school bus aide for Buffalo public schools. He was at the grocery store picking up dinner for his family when he was murdered.

• Andre Mackniel, 53, of Auburn, New York

A loving brother, cousin, father and grandfather, Andre helped his family anyway he could. He was at Tops to pick up a birthday cake for his 3-year-old son when he was murdered. His family was still in mourning after losing his brother earlier this year to an illness.

• Aaron Salter, 55, of Lockport, New York

Described as a true hero, a beloved part of the Tops family. He was a retired police officer who had worked as a lieutenant with the Buffalo Police Department for more than three decades. In his spare time he was an inventor and worked on building vehicles that run on “green energy” and ran a company called AWS Hydrogen Technologies.

“I’m always working on my vehicles and or my project of running engines on water for the last four years or so,”. He was working as security at Tops, where customers remembered he knew them all by name, and was murdered while trying to protect staff and customers.

• Geraldine Talley, 62, of Buffalo

She was at Tops with her fiancé to pickup groceries for their weekly picnics they would have together. She was described as a beautiful soul, who was an excellent cook specializing in cheesecake and carrot cake. She was on leave from her job as an executive assistant due to a back injury when she was murdered.

• Celestine Chaney, 65, of Buffalo was at Tops with her sister to pickup some shrimp her husband was craving, strawberries and her favourite strawberry shortcake when she was murdered in front of her sister. She was a doting mother and grandmother of 6. She spent her time as the primary babysitter for all the little ones.

She was a breast cancer & brain aneurysm survivor.

• Deacon Heyward Patterson, 67, of Buffalo

He volunteered his time helping the pastor at the church, cleaning and serving in a soup kitchen. He would drive to Tops and make sure those who didn’t have transportation were able to shop and get their groceries home, he was murdered in his van in the parking lot. A dealership has donated a van to his church in his honour. He was a loving husband and father of 3.

• Katherine Massey, 72, of Buffalo.

Kat was a local activist who worked tirelessly to improve life for black people in Buffalo. She wrote passionately about gun violence and a range of other topics. She wrote for the Challenger and the Buffalo News. Massey worked at Blue Cross Blue Shield before she retired. She loved dancing, art and was known as ‘a bubbly matriarch’ with a wonderful sense of humour.

• Pearl Young, 77, of Buffalo

Lovingly called Pearly, she was a mother, a wife of a pastor, a licensed missionary, a grandmother, a substitute teacher in the Buffalo Public Schools, a Sunday school teacher and a head of a local food pantry. Her life was of service, she spent 25 years running a soup kitchen and doing anything she could to help those in need.

• Ruth Whitfield, 86, of Buffalo

A loving wife of 68 years, a mother of 4 and grandmother. She was described as “a mother to the motherless”. She was on her way back from visiting her husband at a nursing home and decided to stop at Tops to get something to eat for lunch when she was murdered. For the past 8 years, she visited her husband every day at the nursing home.