(Reuters) – An avowed white supremacist accused of killing 10 Black people in Buffalo, New York, last month was scheduled on Thursday to appear in federal court where he faces 26 counts of hate crimes and firearms offenses.
U.S. Magistrate Judge H. Kenneth Schroeder, Jr. will hold an initial appearance hearing for accused shooter Payton Gendron, 18, in a federal courtroom in Buffalo at 10:30 a.m. EST time, online court records showed.
On Wednesday, the U.S. Justice Department filed federal hate crime and firearms charges against Gendron, saying he was driven to carry out the May 14 massacre by a desire to “prevent Black people from replacing white people.”
Gendron could face the death penalty if found guilty. Attorney General Merrick Garland declined on Wednesday to say whether it would be sought if Gendron is convicted.
Gendron already faces the possibility of life in prison without parole on 25 charges in New York state. He has pleaded not guilty.
Gendron is accused of killing 10 people and wounded three at the Tops Friendly Markets in a predominantly Black neighborhood in Buffalo before police said he surrendered to officers inside the grocery store.
The gunman broadcast the attack in real time on the Twitch livestreaming service and apparently posted a white supremacist rant before the attack, saying that he had been inspired by previous racially-motivated mass killings.
The FBI said it had uncovered a hand-written note in Gendron’s bedroom in which he apologized to his family for committing “this attack” and said he had to do it “for the future of the White race.”
The FBI also located sketches of what appeared to be the layout of the supermarket.
The Buffalo shooting and a mass shooting just 10 days later at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, have prompted a bipartisan effort in the Senate to enact tougher gun laws, though there were signs on Wednesday of snags on passing a bill.[nS0N2WB05M]
(Reporting by Brendan O’Brien; Editing by Nick Zieminski)
