Ten people, including a retired Buffalo police officer, were killed and three were injured Saturday night in a shooting at Tops Market on Jefferson Avenue.
BUFALA, NY – Ten people were killed and three were injured in a mass shooting Saturday afternoon at the Tops supermarket on Jefferson Avenue in Buffalo. Law enforcement is there investigating the tragedy as a hate crime.
Here’s what we know about the victims at the moment:
- Eleven of the victims were African Americans.
- Two of them were white.
- The four victims were store employees.
- Of the three victims, two received help and were discharged from the hospital.
The deceased
Aaron Salter, 55 years old
Among those killed were a store security guard and a retired Buffalo police officer. He was identified as Aaron Salter. Buffalo Police Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia said Salter was “a hero in our eyes.”
Ruth Whitfield, 86 years old
Former Buffalo Fire Commissioner Garnell Whitfield spoke to Claudine Ewing on Saturday night on 2 On Your Side and confirmed that his mother, 86-year-old Ruth Whitfield, was one of the victims of the shooting. Ruth Whitfield was going to visit her husband at a nursing home and stopped at a store to eat.
Pearl Young, 77 years old
Pearly Young, 77, was killed Sunday for groceries. She loved to sing, dance and be with family. For 25 years, Young ran a food pantry in Central Park neighborhood, feeding people every Saturday. She was a mother, grandmother and missionary.
Catherine Messi, 72 years old
The Associated Press reports that buyer Catherine Messi, whose sister Barbara Messi called her a “beautiful soul”, also died. Messi previously wrote for Buffalo News. Her family told reporter Olivia Ugina from our sister station WBNS that Messi took care of everything and she was amazing.
Deacon Hayward Patterson, 67
Emma Henderson of our sister station WKYC has confirmed to Leonard Lane that Dean Hayward “Tenny” Patterson has been killed. Patterson often helped carry people who needed transportation to the store on Jefferson Avenue.
Celestine Cheney, 65 years old
Celestine Cheney’s granddaughter told reporter Olivia Ugin of our WBNS kin station that Cheney was killed in the shooting. Cheney has six grandchildren and one great-grandchild. She also survived cancer.
Robert A. Drury, 32 years
Buffalo police confirmed that Roberta Drury of Buffalo was one of the victims who died in the shooting. Her friend Crystal Pina told 2 On Your Side’s Heather Ly Drury was full of life, caring, happy, she took care of everyone. Drury was a native of Syracuse, but remained at Buffalo.
Margus D. Morrison, 52 years
Margus Morrison has worked as an assistant on the First Student bus for the past four years. His companion said he loved children, and the children reached out to him. He loved his job and almost never applied.
Andre McNeill, 53 years old
Andre McNeill of Auburn was 53 years old. He was a father, brother, uncle and friend. That day he was at Tops to buy his 3-year-old son a holiday cake.
Geraldine Tally, 62 years old
Geraldine Telly, one of nine children, loved being by the water. She and her fiancé spent nearly three hours at the foot of the ferry, enjoying the day. Her sister says Jerry has just learned she is going to be a grandmother for the first time.
Wounded
Buffalo police said three people were injured in the mass shooting: 20-year-old Zaire Goodman of Buffalo; A 50-year-old resident of Tonawanda, New York; and a 55-year-old from Lacquana, New York.
Officials said they were all taken to the ECMC.
According to police, Goodman and the 50-year-old were treated and discharged from the hospital.
Zaire Goodman, 20 years old
One of the victims is the son of State Senator Tim Kennedy. The Associated Press identified him as 20-year-old Zaire Goodman. Goodman was shot in the neck but was recovering, Kennedy said at a church service Sunday. Goodman is the son of a Kennedy employee.
“I am devastated. “I’m angry,” Kennedy said. – And I think of families who will not greet a relative tonight.
In response to Saturday’s events, the senator issued the following statement:
“Tonight a member of my staff, my extended family, is at the ECMC when she needs to be home. She is sitting in an admission hospital because her handsome, unusual son was shot dead while he was just doing his job.
“To say that I have a broken heart tonight is not even fair. I am devastated. I am angry. And I think of families who do not welcome a loved one tonight. All because a person is filled with pure evil, made a deliberate decision it is pointless to take the lives of the innocent.Let’s be clear: it was a hate crime and a terrorist act against our community.It was a racial motive, extremism in its purest form.
“While we may feel speechless, we will not remain silent.
“These victims and the families of these victims will be see justice. As we grieve tonight, we will relive it together. I ask you to keep the families of the dead and wounded in your prayers. “
(This article contains Associated Press reports by Carolyn Thompson)
