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Equality

Accused Buffalo Shooter Now Faces Potential Death Penalty

  • US files federal hate crime charges in alleged racist attack
  • Defendant already faces possible life term, pleaded not guilty
People gather at a memorial for the shooting victims outside of Tops grocery store in Buffalo, New York.

People gather at a memorial for the shooting victims outside of Tops grocery store in Buffalo, New York.

Photographer: Spencer Platt/Getty Images
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The man accused of killing 10 people and wounding three in a racist rampage in Buffalo, New York, was charged with federal hate crimes that carry a potential death penalty.

Payton Gendron, who allegedly used an AR-15 assault-style rifle during the May 14 attack in a supermarket, was already facing the possibility of life in prison if convicted, after becoming the first person in the state to be charged with domestic terrorism motivated by hate. The new, federal charges comprise 26 counts of hate crimes and firearms offenses.