U.S. News

City of Buffalo, N.Y., holds moment of silence for mass shooting victims

By Ben Hooper   |   May 21, 2022 at 3:13 PM
A group prays in the street on Sunday near the site of the mass shooting on Saturday at a Tops supermarket in Buffalo, N.Y. Photo by Aaron Josefczyk/UPI A woman wipes away tears during a gathering at the site of the shooting. Photo by Aaron Josefczyk/UPI Police said the gunman traveled about 200 miles to reach the store. Photo by Aaron Josefczyk/UPI Mourners set up a memorial across the street from the site of the shooting. Photo by Aaron Josefczyk/UPI A group walks down the street near the store. Photo by Aaron Josefczyk/UPI A father consoles his children at the shooting site. Photo by Aaron Josefczyk/UPI Five bullet holes are seen in the store window. Photo by Aaron Josefczyk/UPI A Black Lives Matter sign is placed nearby. Photo by Aaron Josefczyk/UPI A balloon honors Retired Buffalo Police Officer Aaron Salter, who was working at the supermarket as a security guard. He was killed as he confronted the gunman.Photo by Aaron Josefczyk/UPI People gather to pray at the site. Photo by Aaron Josefczyk/UPI A mother embraces her children. Photo by Aaron Josefczyk/UPI People gather to pray and leave flowers. Photo by Aaron Josefczyk/UPI A woman places a teddy bear on a memorial. Photo by Aaron Josefczyk/UPI A woman yells something to a Buffalo SWAT team member. Photo by Aaron Josefczyk/UPI A man crafts a message with chalk on the street near the scene on Monday. Photo by Aaron Josefczyk/UPI

May 21 (UPI) -- The City of Buffalo, N.Y., held a 123-second moment of silence Saturday to mark one week since the mass shooting that killed 10 people and injured three others.

Mayor Byron Brown announced Friday that the city would observe a moment of silence Saturday to begin at 2:28:57 p.m. and end at 2:31:00 p.m. The 123 seconds represent the time that the shooting occurred one week earlier at the Tops grocery store on Jefferson Avenue.

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The moment of silence was observed by Brown on Saturday on the steps of City Hall. The event was attended by New York State Attorney General Letitia James and Tops Friendly Markets President John Persons, among other local officials and members of the public.

The moment of silence was followed by the chiming of bells at various houses of worship around the city.

Tops Friendly Markets separately announced a moment of silence to be observed at 2:30 p.m. Saturday.

The 10 people killed in the attack, all of whom were Black, were identified as Roberta A. Drury, 32; Margus D. Morrison, 52; Andre Mackniel, 53; Aaron Salter, 55; Geraldine Talley, 62; Celestine Chaney, 65, Heyward Patterson, 67; Katherine Massey, 72; Pearl Young, 77; and Ruth Whitfield, 86.

Three other people were injured in the shooting: Zaire Goodman, 20; Jennifer Warrington, 50; and Christopher Braden, 55.

Patterson was the first of the victims to be memorialized in a 12 p.m. Friday funeral service at Lincoln Memorial United Methodist Church. Drury's funeral service was held Saturday morning at Assumption Church in Syracuse.

Massey's funeral is scheduled for Monday at Pilgrim Missionary Baptist Church. Chaney's service is scheduled for Tuesday at Elim Christian Fellowship. Salter's funeral is also scheduled for Tuesday at the Amigone Funeral Home.

Young's funeral will be held Wednesday at the Elim Christian Fellowship. Morrison will be memorialized at 11 a.m. Friday at at True Bethel Baptist Church.

The shooter, Payton S. Gendron, 18, authored a manifesto espousing white supremacist ideology. The shooting was described by President Joe Biden as an act of "hate-filled domestic terrorism."

Gendron has been indicted on charges of first-degree murder.