Payton Gendron, 19, who killed 10 Black people at a grocery store in Buffalo in 2022, was sentenced to life in prison without parole in an emotionally charged hearing on Wednesday.
NBC News reported that many of those affected by Gendron’s actions spoke, including Barbara Massey, the sister of victim Katherine Massey. Her powerful words to the 19-year-old, who opened fire at the Tops Friendly Market on May 14, set the tone of the sentencing hearing.
“You don’t know a damn thing about Black people,” she said, according to NBC News. “We’re human. We like our kids to go to good schools. We love our kids. We never go to no neighborhoods to take people out.”
While Massey continued to speak to Gendron, a man at the hearing darted at Gendron. Authorities quickly surrounded him and de-escalated the situation, which led to a short break.
When the hearing resumed, Erie County Judge Susan Egan addressed the brief incident, urging attendees to “conduct ourselves appropriately because we are all better than that,” CNBC reported.
“I am sure that you are all disturbed by the physicality that we’ve seen in the courtroom here today. I understand that emotion. And I understand that anger. But we cannot have that in the courtroom,” Egan said.
Christopher Braden was one of several people injured in the racist attack, and he explained that he would never be the same.
“Your actions completely changed my life. … I have night terrors that jerk me awake in the middle of the night,” he said, according to NBC News. “It takes me 15 minutes to get out of bed.”
Braden also shared that he’s now living with post-traumatic stress disorder and has had four surgeries to recover from his injuries. Unfortunately, he still has two remaining.
According to CNN, Gendron spoke at the hearing, apologizing and hoping that no one is inspired by his actions.
“I’m very sorry for all the pain I forced the victims and their families to suffer through. I’m very sorry for stealing the lives of your loved ones. I cannot express how much I regret all the decisions I made leading up to my actions on May 14,” he said.
He continued, saying, “I did a terrible thing that day. I shot and killed people because they were Black. Looking back now, I can’t believe I actually did it. I believed what I read online and acted out of hate. I know I can’t take it back, but I wish I could, and I don’t want anyone to be inspired by me and what I did.”
But one attendee didn’t have it, NBC News reported.
“You don’t mean none of that s**t,” she yelled after Gendron’s apology, according to the outlet.
After the hearing, Erie County District Attorney John Flynn shared that the case is closed, but the fight isn’t over.
“It certainly does not put any closure on what we need to do as a society and a community going forward,” Flynn said, according to CNN. “Justice was done with a small ‘j’ today, but we still have a big ‘J’ of Justice to do.”
