Category: PostNews

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) – Calling 8-year-old Londin Thomas brave is an understatement. She was inside the Jefferson Avenue Tops grocery store with her parents Saturday during a mass shooting. Throughout it all, she remained calm, and stuck by her dad.

“I didn’t know what was going on, I just like followed my dad,” she said. “I don’t know why I wasn’t scared. I’m just brave.”

She was at Tops with her parents, Lamont Thomas and Julie Hartwell, getting groceries for a Saturday afternoon cookout. Londin and her dad broke away to look at cake mixes.

“That’s when all the shots rang out,” Lamont Thomas said. “At first you don’t think that it’s going to be that. You think a couple shots, and it’s over with pretty quick, but once it kept going and getting louder and closer then you finally kick in and realize what’s going on.”

Hartwell spoke to the feeling of not being with her family at the time of the shooting.

“The horrific footsteps and everything that, like tied into the chaos, I just wished I was with my daughter at that time,” she said. “I was mad that I didn’t even know where she was at.”

Lamont and Londin rushed to the back of the store and hid in a cooler.

“We followed a lady to the milk coolers and we just hid back there and waited for the shots to stop,” Lamont said.

“I wasn’t really scared,” Londin added. “I was scared for my mom because I thought something happened to her.”

The family said the ensuing 20 minutes, prior to being reunited, felt like a lifetime.

“It felt like an eternity to me. It went on forever,” Julie said. “I’m just glad that she was safe and she was taken care of. That’s all I cared about.”

The family is okay now, but say those memories won’t be going away.

“What are we going to do after this? That’s all I’m worried about,” Julie said. “Because my kid has to grow up here. What is the next step to prevent this from even happening anymore?”

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — Many people gathered outside the Delavan Grider Community Center during President Joe Biden’s visit to Buffalo Tuesday.

In that crowd, Vyonne Elliott, the brother of mass shooting victim Andre Mackneil.

Mackneil died in Saturday’s shooting while at the grocery store picking up a cake for his son’s birthday.

“Andre was a great guy, a loving father, he loved sports, he just was he was my brother, was all I had left actually,” Elliott said.

Elliott met with the President earlier in the day.

“I would just like to see him do his job but at the end of the day I would like to see us as a people come together. The president can only do so much, but us as a whole it’s different,” Elliott said.

Many community members also gathered to show their support. Some said they want to see action from the President, not just hear words spoken.

Among their main concerns are cracking down on white supremacy and hate groups.

“The issue is…the operation of these hate groups that seem to be operating on the fringes of the law,” said Taniqua Simmons.

Simmons and others said they just want to see the President’s words turn into action.

“I really don’t feel safe and this is the first time ever that I’ve not felt safe in my community. Despite all the violence they say happens on the East side, we’re really a close knit community and we need to learn how are we gonna protect each other from situations like this moving forward.”

People said they’d like to see laws passed to help crack down on all of this, but they also want the community to be at the table for those decisions.

“It’s a place where you can’t help but live because that’s the only place you can afford so you’re pretty much a walking target. Everyone knows the East side that’s where all the Blacks live that’s why he was able to target the East side.”

Kayla Green is a reporter who has been part of the News 4 team since 2021. See more of her work here.

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) – Aaron Salter didn’t just wear the badge. He lived it. Every single day, he lived it, according to his wife.

“It wasn’t just for this place or that place. It was every day whether it was at home, whether it was within the community, whether it was on his job,” Kimberly Salter said.

Aaron, 55, a former Buffalo police officer, was working as a security guard at the Tops on Elmwood Ave. when Saturday’s shooting rampage began. Authorities say he shot at the suspect, hitting his body armor, but was killed when fire was returned.

Buffalo Police Commissioner Joe Gramaglia said Salter was “a hero in our eyes”. President Joe Biden also called Salter a hero Tuesday during his visit to Buffalo.

This is no surprise to Kimberly Salter.

Retired BPD officer killed in mass shooting ‘a hero in our eyes’

“My husband was a hero. But my husband had a calling. His calling was to protect and serve. He wore that badge proudly,” she said.

Salter joined other victims’ families at the Delavan-Grider Community Center Tuesday to meet privately with President Biden. There, surrounded by dozens, if not hundreds, of others intimately impacted by the shooting, she was approached by someone who had something to say to her.

“I just met a lady who said, ‘Your husband saved my life. Your husband saved the life of my daughter. Your husband fought hard to bring that person down,'” she said.

Biden touched on his own past, telling the families that the day will come when they think of their loved one and smile.

“It’s going to bring a smile to your lip before it brings a tear to your eye,” Biden said. “It takes a while for that to happen. It might take more than a season. But our prayer for you is that that time comes sooner or later. But I promise you it will come.”

Salter called the President “the most compassionate person I’ve ever met”.

“He and his wife showed so much empathy regarding not only the act that took place but the love for the family,” she said.

“It wasn’t rushed. It wasn’t forced. It was just true love from the heart,” Salter added.

Buffalo supermarket mass shooting: What we know about the victims

Aaron and Kimberly Salter were married for 33 years. Kimberly says she’s “proud” and “blessed” to have been his wife.

“I am blessed to be able to share with others the love and the compassion that he shared with people,” she said, “total strangers that he didn’t know, every single day.”

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — Following the mass shooting at Tops Markets in Buffalo, local businesses and charities have begun to donate to the families of victims and the community.

How to help those affected by the Buffalo mass shooting

M&T Bank announced a $500,000 donation to support victims, their families, and long-term rebuilding initiatives in the community.New Era Cap announced a $300,000 donation to assist the victims and community.KeyBank reported a $250,000 grant to support victims’ families.The Thurman Thomas Family Foundation has raised over $125,000, including a $10,000 donation from the foundation itself. Basil Family Dealerships reported a donation of $35,000 Tuesday to the Thurman Thomas Family Foundation.Bills DE Shaq Lawson reported a contribution of $10,000 to the foundation.Bills Hall of Famers Jim Kelly, Bruce Smith and Andre Reed have also pledged support.The Imagine for Youth foundation donated a portion of the proceeds from the second Micah Hyde Charity Softball Game to the families of the victims.NYS Correctional Officers & Police Benevolent Association has reported a donation of $10,000 to FeedMore WNY.FeedMore WNY has been distributing food to community members affected by the shooting and providing assistance to those in the community. FeedMore continues to accept donations and volunteers. Balanced Beams Learning and Play Center announced it will be donating all proceeds from this week’s playgroups to support families of the victims.

This list will be updated as more donations are reported.

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) – America needs to take a hard look in the mirror and admit the threat presented by domestic terrorism, President Joe Biden said Tuesday after meeting with families who lost loved ones in the Buffalo supermarket mass shooting.

Biden’s comments were made in a short Q&A with reporters just before departing from Buffalo Niagara International Airport. He was asked if it’s time to enact a federal domestic terrorism statute.

Photos: President Biden visits Buffalo after mass shooting

“We have enough laws on the books to deal with what’s going on now. We just have to deal with it,” Biden said. “Look, part of what the country has to do is look in the mirror and face the reality: we have a problem with domestic terror. It’s real.”

Ten people were killed and three others were injured Saturday when a white supremacist unleashed a targeted attack on the community he believed contained the largest percentage of Black residents near his house. Biden called white supremacy a “poison” in a speech earlier Tuesday and doubled down on domestic terror in the session with reporters.

Corrections officer suspended for ‘vile’ post on Buffalo mass shooting

“People don’t want to hear me saying it — they say, ‘he’s the president, he’s a Democrat’ — but that’s what the intelligence community’s been saying, that’s what the military’s been saying for a long time,” Biden said of the threat of domestic terrorism.

“There’s nothing new about this. Nothing new about this. And look, there’s a lot of people, like this murderer who committed this act, who are just deranged, who are susceptible, who are just lost and don’t know what to do. And they’re easily taken, they’re easily sucked in. And it’s gotta stop. We have to admit it. I don’t know why we don’t admit what the hell’s going on.”

Gov. Kathy Hochul called for a “national response” on gun control in light of the attack. Biden said Tuesday that getting new laws passed would be “Very difficult. But I’m not going to give up trying.”

News 4 is continuing to learn more about the victim’s of Sunday’s tragedy. More information about each victim can be found here.

ATTICA, N.Y. (WIVB) – An officer working at the Attica Correctional Facility has been suspended without pay after making a “despicable” Facebook post about the Buffalo supermarket mass shooting.

The New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision told News 4 it is seeking the termination of Gregory C. Foster II, who has just under 25 years of experience with the department.

Buffalo supermarket mass shooting: What we know about the victims

“The comments made by this correction officer are despicable, stand in violation of multiple Department rules and will not be tolerated. This vile posting does not represent the morals and values of the thousands of staff members in the Department,” it said in a statement.

“The individual responsible has been suspended without pay and DOCCS will be seeking termination. The Department has engaged the Civil Rights Task Force, which we are members of, for potential criminal prosecution. The Department has also launched an internal investigation to identify and discipline any staff who may have engaged with the posting.”

“White supremacy is a poison”: Biden urges Americans to not stay silent after Buffalo attack

News 4 has reviewed the social media post but is choosing not to share it. It made light of the domestic terrorist attack that took the lives of 10 people and injured three others.

“We need to say as clearly and forcefully as we can, the ideology of white supremacy has no place in America,” President Biden said Tuesday after visiting with the victim’s families in Buffalo. “Silence is complicity, we cannot remain silent.”

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) – President Joe Biden said it will be “very difficult” for Congress to pass new gun control laws and that there is very little executive action he can do at this time to address gun violence in America.

Biden’s comments came while he was in Buffalo Tuesday visiting the site of the racially motivated mass shooting that killed ten people and injured three others at a Tops supermarket over the weekend. Biden visited a memorial at the site of the attack and met with the families of the victims.

Photos: President Biden visits Buffalo after mass shooting

Biden delivered a speech at the Delavan-Grider Community Center in Buffalo where he denounced white supremacy as a “poison” and condemned the racist ideologies that contributed to the shooter’s motivations.

Biden spoke with reporters at the Buffalo Niagara International Airport before boarding Air Force One back to Washington. Biden was asked if there were any executive orders he could issue to address gun violence or whether he thought there was a renewed opportunity for Congress to pass new gun reforms in the wake of the mass shooting in Buffalo.

Buffalo attack calls for ‘national response’ on gun control, NY Gov. Hochul says

“Not much on executive action. I’ve got to convince the Congress that we should go back to what I passed years ago,” Biden told reporters. “It’s going to be very difficult. Very difficult. But I’m not going to give up trying.”

“We have enough laws on the books to deal with what’s going on now,” Biden continued. “We just have to deal with it. Look, part of what the country has to do is look in the mirror and face the reality. We have a problem with domestic terror. It’s real.”

Eleven of the 13 people shot during Saturday’s Tops mass shooting were Black. Payton Gendron, 18, was arrested at the supermarket and charged with murder after the rampage. Prior to the attack, Gendron allegedly posted an online manifesto taking credit for the violence in the name of white supremacy.

‘White supremacist terrorism’: Inside the Buffalo shooter’s diatribe

“White supremacy is a poison, it’s a poison, it really is, running through our body politic. It’s been allowed to fester and grow right in front of our eyes. No more. I mean no more,” Biden said in his speech in Buffalo Tuesday.

“We need to say as clearly and forcefully as we can, the ideology of white supremacy has no place in America,” the president said. “Silence is complicity, we cannot remain silent.”

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — President Joe Biden denounced white supremacy in a speech from Buffalo Tuesday, calling it “poison” to our county after a mass shooter killed 10 in a racist rampage.

Biden and the first lady touched down in Buffalo Tuesday morning and immediately headed to a memorial for the ten victims killed Saturday at Tops Friendly Markets on Jefferson Avenue. The Bidens then headed to the Delavan-Grider Community Center to privately meet with the families of the victims and speak to America.

The 46th president acknowledged the anger, pain and “black hole in your chest” that losing a loved one leaves. He honored the victims of the tragedy, reading their names and sharing stories of their lives.

Buffalo supermarket mass shooting: What we know about the victims

“Jill and I bring you this message from deep in our nation’s soul. In America, evil will not win, I promise you. Hate will not prevail. And white supremacy will not have the last word,” Biden said.

“Evil did come to Buffalo and has come to all too many places. A manifesting gunman, who massacred innocent people in the name of hateful and perverse ideology, rooted in fear and racism. It’s taken so much. Ten lives cut short in a grocery store, three others wounded by a hateful individual.”

Biden pointed to other attacks in years past and called white supremacy a “poison.” He called on Americans to not stand on the sidelines, asking them to reject the ideology.

“White supremacy is a poison, it’s a poison, it really is, running through our body politic. It’s been allowed to fester and grow right in front of our eyes. No more. I mean no more,” he said.

How to help those affected by the Buffalo mass shooting

“We need to say as clearly and forcefully as we can, the ideology of white supremacy has no place in America,” the president said. “Silence is complicity, we cannot remain silent.”

The president said that tragedy cannot be forever overcome, fully understood or prevent violence and radicalization, but said: “we can keep assault weapons off our streets.” He added that the country needs to stand up and have the courage to put an end to the “relentless” exploitation of the internet to mobilize terrorism.

“What happened here is simple and straightforward, terrorism. Domestic terrorism.”

The president firmly rejected “the great replacement theory,” the conspiracy to diminish and “replace” the influence of white people with nonwhite people. The president called it violence inflicted “in the service of hate and a vicious thirst for power.”

Biden said the hateful rampage of those like the Tops gunman represents a hate-filled minority, saying they cannot destroy the soul of the nation.

“Look, the American experiment and Democracy is in a range like it hasn’t been in my lifetime. It’s in danger this hour,” President Biden said. “Hate and fear are being given too much oxygen by those who pretend to love America, but don’t understand America.”

Racist screed linked to Buffalo mass shooter ‘plagiarized’ portions from Christchurch mosque shooter, expert says

“Love thy neighbor as thy self, that’s the America that I know, that Jill knows,” the president added. “Now’s the time for the people of all races from every background to speak up as a majority in America and reject white supremacy.”

President Biden concluded his speech with a message to the families affected by the attack, “from your pain, may we find purpose to live life worthy of the loved ones you lost.”

Quoting a hymn from Psalm 91, Biden said, “And he will raise you up on eagle’s wings, bear you on the breath of dawn, make you to shine like the sun, and hold you in the palm of his hand.” The president added this is his wish for the country.

Photos: President Biden visits Buffalo after mass shooting

“Hold on to each other tightly, stick together. You’ll get through this and we’ll make Buffalo and the United States a better place to live than it is today.”

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — President Joe Biden will be in Buffalo Tuesday to speak with families of the victims of Saturday’s mass shooting that killed 10 people at grocery store.

Biden arrives in Buffalo following mass shooting: What to expect

Biden is expected to visit the Tops Friendly Market location on Jefferson Avenue and give a speech at the Delevan Grider Community Center. Photos from his trip will be included here.

News 4 is continuing to learn more about the victims of this tragedy. You can find information about each of them here.

President Biden leaves from White House

President Biden boards Air Force One

President Biden arrives at Buffalo Niagara International Airport

President Biden visits memorial at Tops Friendly Market

Watch our live coverage of Biden’s visit here.

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — Tuesday morning on Wake Up!, political consultant Jack O’Donnell joined us to discuss what President Biden’s visit means for Buffalo in wake of the mass shooting that killed 10 people and injured three others.

Hear what O’Donnell shared in the video player above and see the schedule for Biden’s visit to Buffalo here.