Authorities said they were investigating a hate-filled manifesto that Gendron appeared to have posted online in the hours leading up to the deadly attack. The document they believe Gendron wrote “substantially mirrored the New Zealand manifesto,” Erie County Sheriff John Garcia said on the call.
“Both discuss immigration and population and issues at length for replacing the white race in population growth,” Garcia said, referring to the “great replacement” — a racist theory based on the idea white people are being displaced by minorities.
Gendron allegedly wrote: “Why buffalo? Buffalo was chosen because it has the highest black population percentage and isn’t that far away.”
According to authorities, Gendron’s writings included a private diary, which they said showed he planned the attack on his own. However, he shared the documents on the social media chat platform Discord with a small group of people 30 minutes before the attack.
Officials also say Gendron live-streamed the attack on Twitch from a camera mounted on his helmet.
On Wednesday, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul vowed to investigate the social media platforms and state Attorney General Letitia James said her office is launching an investigation to determine if “Twitch, 4chan, 8chan, and Discord, among others” were liable for “providing a platform to plan and promote violence.”
Jana Winter contributed reporting to this story.
Article Appeared @https://news.yahoo.com/buffalo-suspect-payton-gendron-indicted-grand-jury-140647537.html