Bells toll for Buffalo supermarket mass shooting victims 1 year after 10 killed in racist massacre
BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The city of Buffalo paused Sunday to mark the passing of one year since a gunman killed 10 people and wounded three others in a racist attack that targeted Black people at a city supermarket.
Some attended a vigil at the supermarket on the city's east side with the mayor and lawmakers.
The fact that the anniversary fell on Mother's Day was another painful reminder that they can no longer celebrate with their loved ones.
A moment of silence was followed by the chiming of church bells at 2:28 p.m. outside the Tops supermarket. The bells rang 13 times to honor the lives lost and people injured by armed 19-year-old white supremacist Payton Gendron.
"We all come together to feel the pain that we felt that day and still feel today," Sen. Chuck Schumer said.
READ MORE: Buffalo grocery store gunman sentenced to life without parole
At the one-year anniversary vigil, Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown accused lawmakers of refusing to address the increasing amount of mass shootings.
"There have been over 650 additional mass shootings in United States of America, so it's not getting better. It's getting worse. There are lawmakers in Washington who refuse to act," Brown said.
President Joe Biden penned had a similar message in an op-ed in USA Today and tweeted the names of the lives lost. On MSNBC, the Rev. Al Sharpton, who visited Buffalo on Sunday, addressed the issue with Gov. Kathy Hochul.
"Right after the Buffalo shooting we raised the age from assault weapon purchases from 18 to 21. We banned body armor. We banned ghost guns. We made sure bullets with micro-stamps, we could trace them. Ban these assault weapons that have no place in society," Hochul said.
The gunman used an illegally modified semi-automatic rifle in the shooting which was purchased legally.
"One year later, this building, this neighborhood, this community, a testament to the simple fact that hate did not win on that day. The white supremacists did not win on that day," Hochul said.
In Buffalo, events marked a weekend of remembrance.
Mark Talley lost his mother, Geraldine Talley, in the Tops shooting.
"We're at a point now where something bad has to happen for the community to want to come together," Mark Talley said.
READ MORE: Nationwide Moms Demand Action protests call for gun law changes
Leandra Elliott lost her father, Andre Mackneil, in the shooting. She addressed how this Mother's Day being her first was particularly painful.
"A couple of weeks after Mother's Day, he kept saying, 'Where are you going to have a baby? When are you going to have a baby?' And I never knew that it was going to be then. I found out I was pregnant in the midst of me burying my father. So, only thing I want is justice," Elliott said.
Some of the families have filed separate lawsuits. Hochul also announced Sunday the state will invest an additional $10 million in East Buffalo for things like mental health services, and home ownership programs.
The gunman was sentenced to life in prison in February.
