'It could have been anyone,' says member of Buffalo neighbourhood grieving after mass shooting
CBC
Tony Marshall, who's been driving customers to and from the downtown Tops Friendly Markets location in Buffalo, N.Y., for 13 years, had just left the store Saturday afternoon and stopped off at his home nearby when he heard the shots.
Marshall arrived back at the store and found two colleagues he's particularly close with were dead on the parking lot ground.
"And I knew a third person that I knew was laying dead inside," he told CBC News on Sunday. "And I knew as the photos of the people came out that I was going to know every last one of of them. I've been here 13 years. I know everybody in this store.
"One of my drivers who was opening up his truck to put some groceries in was dead," he said. "The young lady I know from the neighbourhood, I see her every day, she says hi to us every day — she was dead."
Marshall was among a number of Tops employees, along with members of the predominantly Black neighbourhood, including representatives of local churches, who gathered at the intersection of the market to offer support and hold impromptu prayer sessions, but also to express anger and grief, a day after the shooting.
It left 10 people dead and three wounded in what authorities have described as "racially motivated violent extremism."
We're still learning more about the victims, but it's known that they include 11 Black people and two white people. Scribbled on the street in chalk, right by the sidewalk where a makeshift memorial of flowers and candles had sprung up, were the names of some of the victims, along with a message: "Victims of Racism."
On a typical Sunday afternoon, the parking lot would be packed with grocery shoppers. But on this day, the area was cordoned off with police tape, and shoppers had been replaced by members of the Buffalo police force, state troopers and the FBI.
A white 18-year-old, Payton Gendron, pleaded not guilty to murder charges during a court appearance Saturday.
Investigators say the accused had researched the demographics of the area and arrived a day in advance, travelling 320 from his home in Conklin, N.Y., to conduct reconnaissance with the "express purpose" of killing as many Black people as possible.
Marshall said that when he heard the shots, he felt compelled to see what was happening.
"I'm part of this place," he said, standing by the car he uses to shuttle people back and forth. "I had to come."
With the shooting so fresh, he said, "I have my moments. haven't had much sleep. I haven't been able to eat."
But Marshall said it was important for the Tops employees to get together, offer support, talk "and give each other hugs."
