The Buffalo Shooting, Replacement Theory, and the Need for Anti-Racist Education
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On a recent Saturday, 18-year-old Payton S. Gendron from Conklin, New York, traveled 200 miles to Buffalo, where he opened fire in a supermarket, resulting in the deaths of 10 individuals and injuries to 3 others. His attack specifically targeted Tops Friendly Markets, situated in a largely Black neighborhood in east Buffalo. Out of his 13 victims, 11 were Black.
Gendron live-streamed the assault and published a manifesto detailing his motivations. He stated that he chose east Buffalo for its Black demographic.
In his writings, Gendron attributed his radicalization to alt-right discussions on 4chan and expressed admiration for other racially motivated mass murderers globally, particularly Brenton Tarrant, who carried out a deadly attack on two mosques in New Zealand in 2019, killing 51 people.
Additionally, Gendron referenced the “Great Replacement” conspira