DOJ to seek death penalty for Buffalo supermarket mass shooter

Federal prosecutors on Friday indicated they would seek the death penalty for Buffalo, New York, mass shooter Payton Gendron.

Gendron received a life sentence in February of last year after pleading guilty to state charges in a move widely viewed as an attempt to avoid the death penalty over federal charges.

Prosecutors, however, argued in a court filing that Politico obtained that his rampage justified capital punishment. Gendron, in 2022, opened fire at a supermarket in a largely black neighborhood, resulting in 10 dead. He was 18 at the time. 

The filing listed "intentional killing," "intentional infliction of serious bodily injury," "intentional participation in an act resulting in death," and "intentional engagement in an act of violence, knowing that the act created a grave risk of death to a person" as factors meeting the threshold for seeking the death penalty.

The decision to seek the death penalty is a rare development under the Biden Department of Justice, as President Joe Biden previously campaigned on its abolition.

During the state sentencing, Judge Susan Eagan excoriated the convicted gunman, saying "There was nothing hasty or thoughtless about your conduct. There are no mitigating factors to be considered."

Federal executions make use of lethal injection unless a court orders an alternate method.

Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter.