Buffalo killings in the United States: the inspirations of the suspect
On May 15, 2022, in Buffalo, New York, crowds gather to pray for the victims of the racist killing spree at a supermarket the day before.
© AP/Matt Rourke
Text by: RFI Follow
2 mins
Joe Biden denounced Sunday May 15 "the hatred which remains a stain on the soul of America", the day after a racist massacre which left ten dead, the majority of African-Americans, in Buffalo in the State from New York.
A racist shooting, described as an act of "domestic terrorism" by the authorities.
Advertisement
Read more
“
A lone gunman, equipped with weapons of war and with a soul filled with hatred, killed ten innocent people in cold blood
”, said the American president in Washington, during a ceremony Sunday May 15 in memory of the policemen who died in the line of duty.
"
We must work together to fight the hatred that remains a stain on the soul of America
," added Joe Biden.
The killer's motives
Investigators know a little more about the motivations of the shooter, follower of white supremacist theories, while local authorities are once again denouncing the laws that are too lax in the regulation of firearms,
reports our correspondent in New York, Lubna Anaki.
This Sunday morning, hundreds of them gathered near the supermarket where the shooting took place the day before.
Moment of meditation to pay tribute to the victims.
At the same time, investigators were combing through the shooter's home.
An 18-year-old white man, who drove more than 3 hours from Conklin where he lives to Buffalo.
►
To read also United States: at least ten dead in a massacre in Buffalo qualified as a racist crime
The authorities also have a text published online by the suspect.
180 pages in which he details his plan and justifies his crime.
The racist nature is beyond doubt for the police, because the young man speaks openly about his hatred of black people.
The killer makes particular reference to the “great replacement” theory.
Theory that whites are being replaced by blacks, immigrants… A theory developed in the early 2000s by Renaud Camus, a French far-right activist.
This belief, long confined to far-right groups, is increasingly being talked about by politicians around the world.
And in recent years it has been cited by many shooting perpetrators, including those in Christchurch, New Zealand and El Paso, Texas.
►
To read also New Zealand: what we know the day after the Christchurch attack
Today, New York Governor Kathy Hochul called for tougher measures against hate speech.
This shooting also revived the eternal debate on gun control in the United States.
Newsletter
Receive all the international news directly in your mailbox
I subscribe
Follow all the international news by downloading the RFI application
google-play-badge_EN
United States
Terrorism
Racism