Letters to the Editor

Authorities say the white 18-year-old who killed 10 people at a Buffalo supermarket during a rampage that targeted Black people had previously made a threat at his high school. But they say Payton Gendron was never charged with a crime and had no further contact with law enforcement after his release from a hospital. The revelation raised questions about whether his encounter with police and the mental health system was a missed opportunity to get him help, put him under closer law enforcement scrutiny or make sure he didn’t have access to deadly firearms before Saturday’s attack at Tops Friendly Market. 

Investigators are still piecing together the motives of the mass shooter who killed 10 people at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York, this weekend. But authorities aren't hesitating to call it a racially-motivated attack. It's given a spotlight to a racist ideology seeping from the Internet's fringes into the mainstream. Called “The Great Replacement Theory,” it essentially says there's a conspiracy afoot to diminish the influence of white people by replacing them with  nonwhites. Experts and researchers are concerned that some of this theory's less extreme tenets are taking hold, especially regarding immigration to the United States.

The victims of Saturday's racially motivated shooting in Buffalo, New York, include retired police officer Aaron Salter. Officials credit the security guard at Tops Friendly Market with saving lives. Katherine Massey was also killed while shopping. Her sister calls her “a beautiful soul." Ruth Whitfield was getting groceries after visiting her husband at a nursing home. Her son calls her a loving mother with a strong religious faith. Zaire Goodman is the son of a staffer to state Sen. Tim Kennedy. Goodman is recovering after being shot in the neck. In total, 13 people were shot, 10 fatally. Authorities say authorities the gunman went to the store with the “express purpose” of killing Black people.