At least 10 people have died and several were injured as a man wearing a military uniform opened fire inside a supermarket in Buffalo, New York. The gunman, who live-streamed the shooting, has been taken into custody.
The witnesses saw the suspect carrying a rifle entering the store wearing body armor and a black helmet. The incident took place at the Tops Friendly Supermarket at about 2:30 pm on Saturday, according to the Daily Mail.
The suspect was armed with a high-powered rifle. Witnesses revealed that there was only blood and bullets at the crime scene.
Footage Shows Horrific Scenes
Videos that emerged on the internet show horrific scenes as three dead bodies were lying on the ground outside the store and while the medics took injured people to hospitals in stretchers.
Locals have claimed that the shooter is a white man and targetted the key black neighborhood, endorsing a possibility that it could be a hate crime-related incident.
Activists Call Buffalo Shooting a Hate Crime Incident
Activists have also claimed that this is an act of anti-Black terrorism.
"This confirmed white supremacist specifically went to a low-income Black neighborhood in Buffalo NY to carry out a mass shooting. These types of white supremacists are ALLOWED to sit online and plot these attacks and nothing is done to thwart this type of anti-Black terrorism," said Tariq Nasheed, writer of 'Foundational Black American Race Baiter'.
Shooter Described Himself as White Supremacist and Anti-semite
The suspect has described himself as a white supremacist and anti-semite in an online manifesto, claimed BNO News.
But, so far, officials have not revealed the identity of the suspect. The Buffalo Police Department has asked residents and motorists to avoid the area.
New York State Governor Kathy Hochul, a Buffalo native, said that she is closely monitoring the shooting at the grocery store and offered assistance to local officials. "My heart breaks for the victims' families and for everyone impacted by this horrific and despicable act of violence."