Buffalo shooter Payton Gendron has pleaded not guilty to 10 murders at his arraignment. Gendron, who hails from New York's Conklin, allegedly shot ten people dead and injured three at a supermarket in Buffalo on Saturday.
The shooter appeared in the City Court wearing a white paper gown and was surrounded by police.
FBI Investigates Case as A Hate Crime Incident
The racially motivated shooting took place in Buffalo, where the residents are majority black. In the shooting, eleven of the victims were black and two were white.
Gendron, who live-streamed the shooting, will next appear before the court in five days for a felony hearing.
The FBI is investigating the case as a hate crime incident as the shooter has claimed that he was influenced by the white replacement theory and wanted white people to increase their birth rates.
The shooter was reportedly remanded without bail.
Gendron Drove 200 Miles to Reach Buffalo
The 18-year-old shooter drove 200 miles from his home near Binghamton to carry out the catastrophic shooting. He wore tactical gear and carried an advanced rifle.
The shooter was charged with first-degree murder on Saturday.
Erie County Sheriff John Garcia confirmed that the shooting was a hate crime incident. Garcia called it pure evil and a straight-up racially motivated hate crime from somebody outside of the community, "outside of the city... coming into our community and trying to inflict that evil upon us," according to CNN.
If Gendron is convicted, he could face a maximum sentence of life in prison without parole and there could be some more charges against him.
The FBI has also revealed that it's in touch with the US Attorney's Office and law enforcement into potential terrorism and hate crimes.
Gendron wrote a 106 pages manifesto and stated that he bought the ammo some time ago but didn't get serious about planning the attack until January.
The shooter, who claimed himself a white supremacist and an anti-Semite, was upset with the dwindling size of the white population.
