The Retired Security guard killed in Buffalo shooting called a hero

The Retired Security guard killed in Buffalo shooting called a hero. 

Officials praised a former police officer who served as a security guard at the Buffalo supermarket where a gunman shot and murdered ten people on Saturday, saying his efforts before he was wounded certainly saved the lives of others.

According to the Buffalo News, Aaron Salter Jr., who served for the Buffalo Police Department for decades until retiring some years ago, approached the alleged shooter inside Tops Friendly Markets. 

However, Salter’s rounds failed to pierce the alleged gunman’s armored vest, subsequently identified as Payton Gendron, 18, who returned fire, killing Salter.

“He’s a great hero, and we’re unsure what he saved us from. There might have been more victims if it hadn’t been for his acts. Unfortunately, he’s been retired for a long time.” 

Buffalo Police Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia remarked, “He was a cherished member and employee of Tops here, doing security, and he went down fighting.”” “We’re certain he saved lives the day before yesterday.”

At a news conference on Sunday, Erie County Sheriff John Garcia repeated that attitude as police released facts about the mass shooting investigation.

“I can’t say enough about Aaron Salter, a retired colleague who challenged this man to preserve the lives of others. May his soul rest in peace, “Garcia explained.

The tragic incident is being investigated as a racially motivated hate crime at the state and federal levels. Eleven of the thirteen victims shot, including Salter, were black.

Within minutes of the incident being reported, Buffalo police arrived on the scene. They met the suspect, who pointed his revolver under his chin. Police persuaded him to surrender his firearm.

“Our policemen bravely employed every de-escalation technique at their disposal. They managed to calm him down. With his armor, it was very one-sided combat, and they were able to securely take him into custody without firing any more bullets, “At the press conference, Gramaglia said.

Gendron was taken into custody and charged with murder, to which he pled not guilty. Garcia said that he is being detained in jail on suicide watch.

Officials stated Gendron was motivated by racial hatred and picked his target because it was in a mostly Black area, as shown by a hate-filled manifesto supposedly authored by the suspect and uploaded online before the assault. 

The author, identified as Gendron, reveals many racist notions about White Americans being “replaced” by ethnic minorities in the essay, mirroring an ideology that has motivated several mass murders in recent years.

“We are certainly saddened that someone drove from hundreds of miles away, someone who was not from this community, who did not know this community, who came here to take as many Black lives as possible, who did this in a willful, premeditated manner, planning this,” Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown said Sunday morning on “Face the Nation.”

Multiple local, state and federal law enforcement organizations are now involved in the probe, with detectives searching Gendron’s digital footprint and house in Conklin, New York, some 3.5 hours from Buffalo. According to officials, Gendron was in the Buffalo region one day before the shooting to perform “reconnaissance” on the shop. 

According to Gramaglia, officers are attempting to gather GPS data to create a history of his travels. 

They have obtained warrants for his phone, computer, automobile, apartment, and social media accounts.

“The FBI and state police have arrived at his residence. The parents have been contacted. According to what I’ve heard, they’re distressed and horrified, “According to Gramaglia.