WORLD NEWS FLASH
United States
On June 15, Payton Gendron, 18, of Conklin, New York, was charged by criminal complaint with hate crimes resulting in death and hate crimes involving bodily injury and attempt to kill, use of a firearm to commit murder during and in relation to a crime of violence, and use and discharge of a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence.
The announcement was made by Attorney General Merrick B. Garland, Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta, Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke for the Civil Rights Division, U.S. Attorney Trini E. Ross for the Western District of New York, and FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate.
The complaint alleges that on May 14, at approximately 2:30 p.m., Gendron, a white male, committed a mass shooting targeting Black people at Tops Friendly Market in Buffalo, New York. The mass shooting, which Gendron live-streamed on the Internet, resulted in the deaths of 10 Black people and injuries to one Black person and two Caucasian people. The complaint further alleges that Gendron’s motive for the mass shooting was to prevent Black people from replacing white people and eliminating the white race, and to inspire others to commit similar attacks.
At the time of the attack, Gendron was wearing a tactical-style helmet, camouflage clothing, body armor, and a GoPro video camera, and carrying a loaded Bushmaster XM-15 .223 caliber rifle and multiple loaded magazines. After parking and exiting his vehicle, Gendron shot and killed three Black people in the Tops’ parking lot and injured a fourth Black person. Gendron then fired several shots through the front window of the store before entering, where he immediately shot and killed two more Black people. At that time, Gendron and an armed Black security guard exchanged gunfire. Gendron aimed at, shot, and killed the security guard.
After Gendron killed the security guard, he turned and aimed his rifle at a white male Tops employee who, at some point during the attack, had been shot in the leg and injured. Rather than shooting him, Gendron said, “sorry,” to the employee. At some point during the attack, one of the shots also struck and injured a white female Tops employee in the pharmacy area of the store, which is located near the checkout lanes. Gendron then walked through a checkout lane, and shot and killed a Black person, before moving through the aisles of the store and shooting and killing three additional Black people. Gendron ultimately returned to the front of the store where members of the Buffalo Police Department took him into custody.
When he was taken into custody, officers recovered the rifle used by Gendron in the attack. The rifle had various writings on it, including racial slurs, the statement “Here’s your reparations!,” and the phrase “The Great Replacement.” Investigators have determined that Gendron fired approximately 60 shots during the attack. Two other firearms, a loaded 12-gauge shotgun and a loaded bolt-action rifle, as well as three loaded rifle magazines, were recovered from Gendron’s vehicle after the attack.
Subsequent investigation determined that in the months preceding the attack, Gendron wrote a self-described manifesto containing a detailed plan to shoot and kill Black people at Tops using a Bushmaster XM-15 rifle, a diagram of the interior layout of the store, a discussion of the clothing and equipment that he would use during the attack, and statements that his motivation for the attack was to prevent Black people from replacing white people and eliminating the white race, and to inspire others to commit similar racially-motivated attacks.
Gendron also wrote that he selected the zip code 14208 because it has the highest percentage of Black people close enough to where he lives and that he selected the Tops store because it is where a large number of Black people can be found. The investigation also determined that Gendron traveled to Tops to scout the location on several occasions prior to the attack, including on May 14, 2022, only two and a half hours before the attack.
Upon conviction, the charges in the complaint carry a maximum penalty of life imprisonment or the death penalty. Gendron is currently in state custody pending state criminal charges.
The criminal complaint is the result of an investigation by the Buffalo and Albany Offices of the FBI, the Buffalo Office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Buffalo Police Department, the New York State Police, and the Erie County Sheriff’s Office. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joseph M. Tripi, Brendan T. Cullinane and Brett A. Harvey of the Western District of New York, and Trial Attorney Shan Patel of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.
The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
More information about the department’s hate crimes efforts, including facts and statistics, case examples, and a searchable collection of the department’s resources for law enforcement, community groups, researchers, and others, are available at www.justice.gov/hatecrimes.
WORRIES GROW OVER UK AND RWANDA
EUROPE / AFRICA
UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, on Monday dismissed the British Government’s proposal to process United Kingdom-bound asylum seekers in Rwanda, describing the offshore deal between the two countries announced in April, as “all wrong.”
The development comes as senior judges in the UK ruled that the Government’s first flight taking asylum seekers to the African nation, could go ahead.
A High Court judge refused a temporary injunction on June 10 to halt the first flight, due to take place not long after, according to news reports, the Court of Appeal upheld that decision.
A full legal hearing on the controversial policy is reportedly due to take place next month.
“On Rwanda, I think we’ve been so clear over the last few weeks that we believe that this is all wrong, for so many different reasons,” UNHCR chief Mr. Grandi continued.
Underscoring that the UK is a signatory to the International Convention on Refugees, the High Commissioner maintained that trying to “export” the responsibilities that this entailed, “runs contrary to any notion of responsibility and international responsibility-sharing.”
Rwanda had a strong history in welcoming and processing tens of thousands of Congolese and Burundian refugees in the past, Mr. Grandi continued, insisting that the country did not have the capacity or infrastructure to carry out the refugee status assessments that were required on a case-by-case basis.
“If it were the other way around, maybe we could discuss, but here, we are talking about a country (the UK) with structures that is exporting its responsibility to another country, Rwanda.”
Speaking in Geneva, the High Commissioner also dismissed the UK Government’s assertion that the policy’s aim was “to save people” from dangerous boat journeys across the English Channel, from the coast of mainland Europe.
“I mean, saving people from dangerous journeys is great, is absolutely great,” Mr. Grandi said, “but is that the right way to do it? Is that the real motivation for this deal to happen? I don’t think so.”
Urging greater communication between the UK and French governments on the issue, since the majority of refugees likely to be impacted came via France, the High Commissioner noted that France also had the structures in place, to help asylum-seekers.
When the policy was announced, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that the $160 million scheme would “save countless lives” of migrants who often put themselves in the hands of illegal people traffickers.
MONKEYPOX BECOMING MORE OF A THREAT
WORLD
The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) announced on June 14 that the International Health Regulations Emergency Committee has been convened due to the spread of the Monkeypox virus to 32 non-endemic countries.
The experts will meet on June 23 to assess whether the continuing outbreak represents a Public Health Emergency of International Concern, the highest level of global alert, which currently applies only to the COVID-19 pandemic and polio.
So far this year, more than 1,600 confirmed cases and almost 1,500 suspected cases of Monkeypox have been reported to WHO, across 39 countries – including seven countries where monkeypox has been detected for years, and 32 newly-affected nations.
At least 72 deaths have been reported from previously affected countries. No deaths have been registered so far from the newly affected countries, but the agency is seeking to verify news reports of a related death in Brazil.
“The global outbreak of Monkeypox is clearly unusual and concerning”, said WHO director Tedros Adhanom Gebreyesus, calling to step up the response and international coordination.
Ibrahima Socé Fall, WHO Deputy Director for Emergency Response, explained that the risk of spread in Europe is considered “high” while in the rest of the world “moderate” and that there are still knowledge gaps regarding how the virus is being transmitted.
“We don’t want to wait until the situation is out of control,” he said.
WHO has published recommendations for governments regarding case detection and control.
Speaking to journalists in Geneva, WHO Smallpox expert Rosamund Lewis, said it was crucial to raise awareness in the population about the level of risk and explain the recommendations to avoid infecting close contacts and family members.
Dr. Lewis explained that, although the disease sometimes only produces mild symptoms, such as skin lesions, it can be contagious for two to four weeks.
“We know that it is very difficult for people to isolate themselves for so long, but it is very important to protect others. In most cases, people can self-isolate at home and there is no need to be in the hospital,” she added.
Monkeypox is transmitted through close physical contact with someone who has symptoms. The rash, fluids, and scabs are especially infectious. Clothing, bedding, towels, or objects such as eating utensils or dishes that have been contaminated with the virus can also infect others.
However, it is not clear whether people who do not have symptoms can spread the disease, the expert reiterated.
