Today’s story is one of hate, heartbreak, and horror. But it's also a call to remember those we lost. Today, we go to Buffalo, New York—a proud Rust Belt city known for its snowstorms, football team, and the blue-collar resilience of its people. But on May 14, 2022, something happened that would fracture this community... a hate-fueled act of domestic terrorism. An 18-year-old man from the quiet town of Conklin drove more than 200 miles with one clear, terrifying motive: to kill Black people.
This is the story of the Tops Market Massacre.
It was a Saturday afternoon in Buffalo’s East Side—a neighborhood rich in history, culture, and community, and one that’s predominantly black, which is kind of crazy to me that he drove all the way there because theres quite a large black community right here in Binghamton, or like Syracuse? Why Buffalo?
Tops Friendly Market on Jefferson Avenue was bustling. Families shopping for Sunday dinners. Elderly neighbors picking up prescriptions. Regular folks going about their day. Tops was one of the few full-service grocery stores in the area. For many residents, Tops wasn’t just a store. It was a lifeline.
But around 2:30 p.m., that ordinary afternoon turned into a nightmare.
A young white man dressed in tactical gear and armed with an assault-style rifle stepped out of his car in the parking lot. On his weapon were racial slurs and symbols.
He livestreamed the attack on Twitch.He opened fire before even stepping inside.
Within minutes, 10 people were dead. All were Black. Three others were wounded.
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