Buffalo Shooting Suspect Allegedly Threatened Violence at His High School, Was Referred for Mental Health Eval

Payton Gendron, the 18-year-old gunman accused of killing 10 and wounding three in a racially-motivated hate crime at a Buffalo supermarket, had threatened a shooting at his high school, according to local law enforcement. According a government official, a school faculty member called the department in June 2021 after Gendron verbally threatened violence, as explained to The Buffalo News: “A school official reported that this very troubled young man had made statements indicating that he wanted to do a shooting, either at a graduation ceremony, or sometime after.” The official said that after the incident, state police investigated Gendron, whom they sent for a mental health evaluation and counseling. A 180-page manifesto, bloated with hatred and racism, is under investigation in connection with the shooting. In the document, the author identifies himself as Gendron and claims, contrary to local law officials’ statements, that he has never been diagnosed with a mental disability or disorder. New York Governor Kathy Hochul spoke on ABC’s “This Week” about Gendron’s past legal history, saying that “medical authorities” had been made aware of Gendron due to “something he wrote in high school.”