Category: PostNews

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — The 10 victims were in the hearts and minds of dozens who gathered Wednesday night for a food distribution event at the Mount Hope Community Church on Broadway.

The city is still in mourning, but neighbors are trying to lift each other up. Food distribution sites are popping up across the East Side to help residents who live in this food desert.

“Everybody’s hurting and they are hurting in different ways, so we are trying to bring that level of comfortability to them,” Senior Pastor Charles H. Walker of Mount Hope Community Church said.

As the nation watches the investigation scene on Jefferson Ave., members of this community gathered in a small church in another neighborhood on the East Side. Mount Hope Community Church partnered with the Buffalo City Mission to provide food to area residents who have lost more than one grocery store.

“[We want to] be that one stop shop where they can step out of their homes and where we can fulfill and fill that gap of the food desert,” Aubrey Calhoun, Executive Director and CEO of the Buffalo City Mission, added.

Pastor Walker says the community had a Tops on Broadway and Bailey Ave., but it was closed three years ago. There has been nothing to take its place, so residents had to travel three miles to the Tops on Jefferson Ave. Now that is closed temporarily.

Tops turn the table on ‘5/14’ infamy with 5/14 Survivors Fund

The Mission is taking donations not only to help families in the Masten Park and Kingsley neighborhoods, but to help all residents on the East Side who shopped at that Tops.

“People are stepping up and just stepping out of their comfort zone to help a neighbor or fellow in need and that’s what Buffalo is all about,” Calhoun continued.

One resident said she traveled to Cheektowaga to get groceries.

“I had to catch the bus and then I’m watching and seeing who on the bus look strange. You don’t know who is what. Then when I get off the bus, I’m praying as I’m walking up to Tops,” Denise Shelton shared with News 4.

As lawmakers call for national change, many residents say it starts with Buffalo and not just with the Tops shooting. John Shelton says he lost his son, who was killed in Black Rock.

“You can never forget. You forgive, but you can’t forget,” Shelton said. “If we can stop the violence, it would be a beautiful thing.”

Josh Allen, Stefon Diggs, other Bills and Sabres players visit Tops mass shooting memorial

Jeffery Bradley, another area resident, shared similar sentiments.

“I just lost a good friend a few weeks ago that got killed on Person. We all lost a lot of really good people around here,” Bradley said. “Stop the killing because its really bad.”

As the city begins to heal, people are asking—where do we go from here?

“I don’t know what to do. I’m willing to take anybody’s advice,” Denise Shelton said.

Pastor Charles says the city must take one step at a time, remain prayerful and stay focused. He added that the doors to his church are always open and he is available to help those in need.

For immediate assistance, call the Crisis Hotline—(716) 834-3131.

If you would like to help the Buffalo City Mission, visit their website.

Donations

GoFundMeADVERTISING

Verified fundraisers — people who organized each fund in parentheses:Buffalo Mass Shooting Help The Families Fund (Board of VictimsFirst.org)the families of the victims of Buffalo shooting (OnCore Golf CEO Keith Blakely)Buffalo Memorial (Reporters Ron Insana and Luke Russert)Buffalo Tragedy Donate to victims families (Esra’a Taha of Buffalo Skincare and Beauty)Community Support to Feed the East Side (Feed Buffalo and partners)Aaron Salter Jr Fundraiser (Aaron Salter III)Tops Markets (Buffalo resident Joni Falk)Buffalo Survivors Fund (National Compassion Fund)

FeedMore WNY

FeedMore was born from the merger of Food Bank of WNY and Meals on Wheels for WNY.

Accepting food donations at 91 Holt St. from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and 8 a.m. to noon on SaturdaysAlso accepting donations at the Resource Council of WNY at 347 E. Ferry St. through May 25Requesting donations of nonperishable protein items, shelf-stable fruits and vegetables, beverages and snack items, as well as toilet paper and related personal care products, and diapers.Donate at this link.Call (716) 822-2002 with any questions

Buffalo Community Fridge

A volunteer-led network of community fridges dedicated to giving Buffalo communities access to fresh and healthy food.

Accepting food donations at 257 E. Ferry St.milkeggscheesebaby food and formulajuicewaterlabeled cooked meatsNo longer accepting monetary donations at this timeIncluded a list of other organizations accepting donationsBlack Love Resists in the Rust – BuffaloWNY Mobile Overdose Prevention ServicesColored Girls Bike TooRooted In Love, Inc.Inquiries: BuffaloCommunityFridge@gmail.com

Buffalo 5/14 Survivors Fund

100% of funds donated to families of all 13 victims, as well as others in the storeEstablished by National Compassion Fund in partnership with TopsHopes to partner with local leaders and businessesGoFundMeMore information available on the fund’s website

Erie County Clerk’s Office/Auto Bureau

Food drop-off drives are happening at the Clerk’s Office, as well as several Auto Bureau locations:

Erie County Clerk’s Office (92 Franklin St., Buffalo)Erie County Auto Bureau (Rath Building, 170 Pearl St., Buffalo)Eire County Auto Bureau (Southgate Plaza, 1088 Union Rd., West Seneca)Erie County Auto Bureau (Sheridan Plaza, 2309 Eggert Rd., Town of Tonawanda)Erie County Auto Bureau (Urbandale Plaza, 2122 George Urban Blvd., Cheektowaga)Erie County Auto Bureau (Highland Plaza, 6853 Erie Rd., Derby)

One Love Fundraiser

Chef Darian Bryan says Rasta Pasta and Jerk Chicken dinners will be served Friday, May 20 at Larkin Square. Dinners will be served from 4 to 7 p.m.

All proceeds will go directly to the families of the victims. To order pre-sale tickets, click or tap here.

Thurman Thomas Family Foundation

Accepting donations for efforts to impact families of victims and surrounding communityWorking with community leaders and advocates for families

Mental Health Resources

Johnny B, Wiley Center

1110 Jefferson Ave.Mental health resources, food, other resources and assistanceAssisting families and community residents impacted by the mass shootingDaily from 1-9 p.m. through May 27

WASHINGTON (AP) — The House passed legislation Wednesday night that would devote more federal resources to preventing domestic terrorism in response to the racist mass shooting in Buffalo, New York.

The 222-203, nearly party-line vote was an answer to the growing pressure Congress faces to address gun violence and white supremacist attacks, a crisis that was escalated following two mass shootings over the weekend.

The House passed a similar measure in 2020 only to have it languish in the Senate. Lacking support in the Senate to move ahead with the gun-control legislation that they say is necessary to stop mass shootings, Democrats are instead pushing for a broader federal focus on domestic terrorism.

“We in Congress can’t stop the likes of (Fox News host) Tucker Carlson from spewing hateful, dangerous replacement theory ideology across the airwaves. Congress hasn’t been able to ban the sale of assault weapons. The Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act is what Congress can do this week to try to prevent future Buffalo shootings,” Rep. Brad Schneider, D-Ill., who first introduced the measure in 2017, said on the House floor.

The measure seeks to prevent another attack like the one that took place in Buffalo on Saturday. Police say an 18-year-old white man drove three hours to carry out a racist, livestreamed shooting rampage in a crowded supermarket. Ten people were killed.

Supporters of the bill say it will fill the gaps in intelligence-sharing among the Justice Department, Department of Homeland Security and the FBI so that they can better track and respond to the growing threat of white extremist terrorism.

Under current law, the three federal agencies already work to investigate, prevent and prosecute acts of domestic terrorism. But the bill would require each agency to open offices specifically dedicated to those tasks and create an interagency task force to combat the infiltration of white supremacy in the military.

The Congressional Budget Office estimates the bill would cost about $105 million over five years, with most of the money going toward hiring staff.

“As we took 9/11 seriously, we need to take this seriously. This is a domestic form of the same terrorism that killed the innocent people of New York City and now this assault in Buffalo and many other places,” said Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., who is sponsoring an identical bill in the Senate.

Senate Democrats are pledging to bring up the bill for a vote next week. Its prospects are uncertain, with Republicans opposed to bolstering the power of the Justice Department in domestic surveillance.

Republican lawmakers assert that the Justice Department abused its power to conduct more domestic surveillance when Attorney General Merrick Garland issued a memo in October aimed at combating threats against school officials nationwide. They labeled the memo as targeting concerned parents.

GOP lawmakers also say the bill doesn’t place enough emphasis on combatting domestic terrorism committed by groups on the far left. Under the bill, agencies would be required to produce a joint report every six months that assesses and quantifies domestic terrorism threats nationally, including threats posed by white supremacists and neo-Nazi groups.

“This bill glaringly ignores the persistent domestic terrorism threat from the radical left in this country and instead makes the assumption that it is all on the white and the right,” said Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif.

The divergence highlights the stubborn gap between Democrats and Republicans over domestic terrorism in the U.S. and how it should be defined and prosecuted.

For decades, terrorism has been consistently tied with attacks from foreign actors, but as homegrown terrorism, often perpetrated by white men, has flourished over the past two decades, Democratic lawmakers have sought to clarify it in federal statute.

“We’ve seen it before in American history. The only thing missing between these organizations and the past are the white robes,” Durbin said. “But the message is still the same hateful, divisive message, that sets off people to do outrageously extreme things, and violent things, to innocent people across America. It’s time for us to take a stand.”

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — As a way of helping survivors of last weekend’s tragedy get back on their feet, Tops is donating a half-million dollars to start a “Buffalo 5/14 Survivors Fund.”

It only took a few minutes, police say, for an out-of-town gunman to wreak havoc on a community that will take years to recover from, if ever.

Tops officials now want to turn the grief and anger from that tragedy into something positive.

“Within about 36 hours we had a really good bunch of processes in place to support them, some grief counseling, we were providing them food, providing them necessities,” Tops Markets President John Persons said.

Tops are partnering with local community groups, and a non-profit based in Virginia to form the “Buffalo 5/14 Survivors Fund,” and Tops officials are donating $500,000 for the cause.

How to help those affected by the Buffalo mass shooting

“This is really a collective way that all of us can get behind the survivors and the victims of that horrible event, and that is really how it came about,” Persons added.

Tops President Joh Persons told us, they chose to link up with the National Compassion Fund to manage the 5/14 Survivors Fund because it’s composed of survivors and loved ones of other violent tragedies.

Of the $93-million NCF has disbursed over 8 years, they helped raise almost $12 million for the victims, survivors and families of the Walmart massacre in El Paso, Texas three years ago. And more than $32 million for the Las Vegas mass shooting in 2017 that killed 60 concertgoers and wounded another 400.

The CEO of the National Compassion Fund issued a statement saying, “Our hearts go out to the entire Buffalo community. We are honored to join forces with Tops Friendly Markets, to help meet the overwhelming needs of the survivors of this atrocity… stand in solidarity with those hurt by gun violence.”

‘Deacon Patterson would want us to carry on’: friends remember Heyward Patterson

Persons said funds are being raised for families of those who died, both store associates and customers, and those dealing with the emotional impact.

“The physical support, the monetary support, product, food, donations that the people of Western New York have come together and rallied behind this community,” Persons said.

Persons said the 5/14 fund will be administered by a committee of local community leaders, and every dime of those proceeds will go to those in need.

To make a tax-deductible donation to the “Survivors Fund,” click here.

IRVING, N.Y. (WIVB) — The Seneca Nation is honoring the victims of the Jefferson Avenue Tops Markets mass shooting by lowering flags on their territories to half-staff.

Seneca Nation President Matthew Pagels said the flags will be lowered until all the victims are laid to rest.

“As we continue to support and grieve with our neighbors in Buffalo following this weekend’s tragic events, the Seneca Nation will lower flags on our territories to half-staff as a sign of respect for the victims and their families,” President Pagels said.

How to help those affected by the Buffalo mass shooting

Pagels said earlier this week the Seneca Nation shared the sorrow, anger and disbelief so many are left feeling since the violent racially motivated violent attack.

“The Seneca Nation shares the sorrow, anger and disbelief expressed by so many following the heinous mass shooting in Buffalo this weekend,” Pagels added. “We offer our prayers for the victims and send our thoughts and support to their families, friends and everyone impacted by this tragedy. A community is built of people of all races and backgrounds living and sharing together. Hate and racism cannot continue to divide us as a community or a country. We are confident that all Western New Yorkers will recognize and strengthen the bonds of community that make this a special place and come together to make our community even stronger.”

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Wednesday invoked the Defense Production Act to speed production of infant formula and authorized flights to import supply from overseas, as he faces mounting political pressure over a domestic shortage caused by the safety-related closure of the country’s largest formula manufacturing plant.

The Defense Production Act order requires suppliers of formula manufacturers to fulfill orders from those companies before other customers, in an effort to eliminate production bottlenecks. Biden is also authorizing the Defense Department to use commercial aircraft to fly formula supplies that meet federal standards from overseas to the U.S., in what the White House is calling “Operation Fly Formula.”

Supplies of baby formula across the country have been severely curtailed in recent weeks after a February recall by Abbott Nutrition exacerbated ongoing supply chain disruptions among formula makers, leaving fewer options on store shelves and increasingly anxious parents struggling to find nutrition for their children.

“I know parents across the country are worried about finding enough formula to feed their babies,” Biden said in a video statement released by the White House. ”As a parent and as a grandparent, I know just how stressful that is.”

The announcement comes two days after the Food and Drug Administration said it was streamlining its review process to make it easier for foreign manufacturers to begin shipping more formula into the U.S.

In a letter Wednesday to the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Agriculture, Biden directed the agencies to work with the Pentagon to identify overseas supply of formula that meets U.S. standards over the next week, so that chartered Defense Department flights can swiftly fly it to the U.S.

“Imports of baby formula will serve as a bridge to this ramped-up production,” Biden wrote.

Two children hospitalized due to baby formula shortage

Regulators said Monday that they’d reached a deal to allow Abbott Nutrition to restart its Sturgis, Michigan, plant, the nation’s largest formula plant, which has been closed since February due to contamination issues. The company must overhaul its safety protocols and procedures before resuming production.

After getting the FDA’s OK, Abbott said it will take eight to ten weeks before new products begin arriving in stores. The company didn’t set a timeline to restart manufacturing.

“I’ve directed my team to do everything possible to ensure there’s enough safe baby formula and that it is quickly reaching families that need it the most,” Biden said in the statement, calling it “one of my top priorities.”

The White House actions come as the Democratic-led House is expected to approve two bills Wednesday addressing the baby formula shortage as lawmakers look to show progress on what has become a frightening development for many families.

One bill expected to have wide bipartisan support would give the secretary of the Department of Agriculture the ability to issue a narrow set of waivers in the event of a supply disruption. The goal is to give participants in an assistance program commonly known as WIC the ability to use vouchers to purchase formula from any producer rather than be limited to one brand that may be unavailable. The WIC program accounts for about half of infant formula sales in the U.S.

The other measure, a $28 million emergency spending bill to boost resources at the Food and Drug Administration, is expected to have less bipartisan support and it’s unclear whether the Senate will take it up.

Baby formula shortage hits home for mother of triplets

“This is throwing more FDA staff at a problem that needs more production, not more FDA staff,” said Rep. Bill Huizenga, R-Mich.

Rep. Rosa DeLauro, the Democratic chair of the House Appropriations Committee, said the money would increase FDA staffing to boost inspections of domestic and international suppliers, prevent fraudulent products from getting onto store shelves and acquire better data on the marketplace.

Abbott’s voluntary recall was triggered by four illnesses reported in babies who had consumed powdered formula from its plant. All four infants were hospitalized with a rare type of bacterial infection and two died.

After a six-week inspection, FDA investigators published a list of problems in March, including lax safety and sanitary standards and a history of bacterial contamination in several parts of the plant. Under Monday’s agreement, Abbott must regularly consult with an outside safety expert to restart and maintain production.

Chicago-based Abbott has emphasized that its products have not been directly linked to the bacterial infections in children. Samples of the bacteria found at its plant did not match the strains collected from two babies by federal investigators.

But FDA officials pushed back on that reasoning Monday on a call with reporters — their first time publicly addressing the company’s argument. FDA staffers noted they were unable to collect bacterial strains from two of the four patients, limiting their chances of finding a match.

“Right from the get-go we were limited in our ability to determine with a causal link whether the product was linked to these four cases because we only had sequences on two,” FDA’s food director Susan Mayne said.

Fixing the violations uncovered at Abbott’s plant will take time, according to former FDA officials. Companies need to exhaustively clean the facility and equipment, retrain staff, repeatedly test and document there is no contamination.

As part of the FDA’s new import policy, regulators said companies would need to provide documentation of their factory’s inspections.

BUFFALO N.Y. (WIVB) — Deacon Heyward Patterson loved his community, his church and helping people.

“He was truly called to do the work in the community and he will be missed greatly,” said Leonard Lane, who knew Deacon Patterson for more than 10 years.

Lane and Patterson bonded over volunteering and their faith, and would even sit on the same bench in church every Sunday at the Tabernacle Church of God on Glenwood Avenue.

“Deacon Heyward Patterson was a beautiful wonderful brother to have on your team,” Lane said. “Deacon Patterson was a little bit of everything in this community, he was a greeter, he was an usher, he was a deacon, and most of all he was a community servant.”

How to help those affected by the Buffalo mass shooting

“The sweeping, the vacuuming, he would do cleaning. He would help out with the pastor, he would help out with me in the back,” said Penny Beckham, who would volunteer in the soup kitchen at the church with him on a weekly basis. “He would stay here to make sure I was safe and then he would also go up to Tops and make sure those who didn’t have transportation will be able to shop and get their groceries home. He was a man of service.”

Deacon Patterson was one of the 10 lives lost during Saturday’s mass shooting at Tops on Jefferson Avenue. Beckham says it won’t be the same without him.

“We were so used to seeing his vehicle every time and to pull up,” she said. “it’s not there is a constant reminder that even before you enter into the church that he’s no longer with us.”

Aaron Salter’s wife confirms what Buffalo already knows: “My husband was a hero”

She says something this is still with them, is his smile and encouraging attitude.

“If you know anything about him, he would tell you, I love my church,” Beckham said. “Deacon Patterson would want us to carry on. To give God the glory. To praise his holy name. To help others, to love others. No matter what race, creed, color.”

Deacon Patterson would often give people rides to and from Tops. Because of that, the Basil Dealership donated a new van for the church to use. They say this will help keep Deacon Patterson’s legacy and mission going.

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — Dogs and their handlers, who are trained crisis counselors, are in Buffalo right now helping people who may be struggling in the midst of Saturday’s mass shooting.

Nine-year-old Mallie, a chocolate lab, enjoyed getting love from visitors to the growing memorials in front of the Tops on Jefferson Avenue Wednesday afternoon. But maybe more than she enjoyed getting pet, the people there enjoyed the sense of calm she brought to the area.

Six crisis counselors and five dogs were called to WNY from New Jersey, Connecticut, and Florida. They’re with a group called Tri-State Canine Response Team.

“A lot of times people may not be ready to talk to counselors or to different people, but the unconditional love that a dog gives them the opportunity for the first time to put their arms around the dogs, to decompress, and start to share the kinds of things they’re feeling,” Janice Campbell said, a founder of the group.

As the dogs get some love, the handlers are trained to feel out the situation and counsel people in need.

“We kind of weave it in,” Campbell said. “Sometimes when we’re working with kids, they say they like working with dogs because, ‘They don’t ask questions,’ so when they want to do that, we just let them have their moment with the dog.”

How to help those affected by the Buffalo mass shooting

The group, which has 63 volunteers across the country, has been to 11 traumatic events since the 2016 mass shooting at Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, Florida.

They were called to Buffalo on Monday and will stay through Friday.

Mallie, Diego, Logan, Abigail and Hazel, along with their handlers, visited the dispatchers who took the calls to 911 on Saturday. They’re also meeting with Tops employees who were in the store that horrible day, and they even visited the Tops location on Elmwood, which is where many are now doing their shopping with the Jefferson location closed.

“Our dogs’ work is to make people smile, and we see that over and over again, even in the worst of situations,” Pam Bolden said, a member of the group.

When they’re done in Buffalo, they’ll go home and decompress. Each handler will speak with a therapist, who’s a part of the response group, to make sure they’re ok too.

WILLIAMSVILLE, N.Y. (WIVB) — The Williamsville School District is warning the community to be careful opening text messages from unknown cellphone numbers. The warning comes after people around the region received the recording of the Jefferson Avenue Tops mass shooting from random numbers.

The school district put a message out to families Wednesday after Amherst Police told them people across Western New York and district students had received videos of Saturday’s mass shooting at Tops.

NYS AG to investigate social media companies following mass shooting in Buffalo

Williamsville Schools Superintendent Dr. Darren J. Brown-Hall asks parents to speak with their children and to avoid opening text messages from unknown numbers.

The district said administrators, counselors and mental health support staff are available for students and staff that need to talk.

News 4 has reached out to the Amherst Police Department for more information, we’re waiting to hear back.

How to help those affected by the Buffalo mass shooting

Dear Williamsville Central School District Families and Staff,

I want to share an update with our school community regarding information we have received following the traumatic event that unfolded in Buffalo this past weekend.  The District was made aware that videos from the violent attack are being text messaged to random numbers throughout our region.  We have been informed by the Amherst Police Department (APD) that students in our District have unfortunately been the recipient of these random messages and have reported them.

In our discussions with APD, these text messages, which appear to have numbers from different states and countries, appear to be spammed and are currently being investigated.

Please have a discussion with your child(ren) and members of your school community. If you or your child(ren) receive a text message from a number you do not recognize, avoid opening that message. No one should have to relive or be re-traumatized from the images of terror that unfolded last Saturday. 

Our administrators, counselors, and mental health support staff continue to be available for any student or staff member that needs someone to talk to or ask questions.

Sincerely,

Dr. Darren J. Brown-Hall
Superintendent of Schools

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — Erie County Medical Center took in the three surviving victims of Saturday’s massacre.

On Wednesday, the frontline workers showed the community they’ll always be there for them.

“We know how to deal with trauma but this, this racism, this massacre, just hit so differently,” said Doctor Michelle Swygert’Seay.

Frontline workers gathered to honor the 10 victims of Saturday’s shooting and drive home the point: love will always conquer hate.

“This was a challenging week on this level, on the organization, community level. Usually I’m dealing with things one by one, one at a time but this feeling it a very challenging I can’t even compare it to anything I’ve ever experienced here.”

ECMC saved three victims Saturday, but were prepared to take in as many as needed.

“As I understand, as the numbers were decreasing of the numbers who we were going to get, there was sadness because we knew that people didn’t survive.”

It’s also Mental Health Awareness Month and some workers participated in a walk before the gathering.

Erie County Legislature chair April Baskin reminded frontline workers to also remember take care of themselves during these times.

“We are not okay, what happened to our community is not okay, but we’re here standing because of people like you,” she said. “Because of people that despite the tragedy, despite the trauma, still have to get up and go to work.”

They said anyone in need of help can call the Center of Excellence for Behavioral Health help center or the 24 hour psychiatric hospital at 716-898-3000.

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

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) — At the beginning of her press conference on Wednesday, Governor Kathy Hochul paused for a moment of silence for the 10 victims of Saturday’s mass shooting in Buffalo.

In an effort to prevent a similar tragedy from happening again, the governor announced several changes she wants to see made to New York State law.

“Today I’m signing an executive order to establish a unit within the department of homeland security and emergency services focusing exclusively on domestic terrorism,” said Hochul.

She’s now requiring state police to file an extreme risk order of protection under New York State’s Red Flag Law when they believe an individual is a threat to themselves or others.

“This executive order will also establish a domestic terrorism unit within our New York State Intelligence Center focusing on monitoring social media. Everyone is saying, how did this happen? This information was out there. The footprint the fingerprint was out there. We are going to ramp up these efforts intensely.”

She also proposed a package of gun laws, one of which would revise the definition of a firearm to include what are called “Any Other Weapons.”

Hochul wants these legislative changes made before the state legislature’s session ends in just a couple of weeks.

The governor also made a referral to the New York State Attorney General’s Office to investigate social media platforms that broadcasted the Buffalo mass shooting, as well as sites that promote hate speech and the replacement theory.