The FBI also recovered a candy bar receipt at his family home showing that he had scoped out the site of the shooting one week before it took place,along with sketches of what appeared be the layout of the Tops Supermarket where his rampage was livestreamed on the internet.
In a manifesto outlining his plans,Gendron also allegedly revealed that his goals were to “kill as many blacks as possible”,to “avoid dying” and to “spread ideals” - notably a racist theory called the “great replacement theory” that suggests minorities are intent on replacing white people.
After shooting his first seven black victims,he came across a white male Tops employee who had been injured but “rather than shooting him,Gendron said sorry... before moving on through the rest of the store to find more black people to shoot and kill”.
The details emerge as Congress considers a new framework ofgun reforms negotiated by a bipartisan group of senators in the wake of the mass shootings in Buffalo and Uvalde last month. The latter took place one week after the Buffalo attack,when another 18-year-old gunman opened fire at Robb Elementary School,killing 19 children and two teachers.
Among the Senate proposals on the table are incentives for states to pass red-flag laws,funding for school safety and mental health resources,and expanded background checks.
While the framework still needs to be written out into a bill,some Republicans,including Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell,have indicated that they would be willing to support the bill if it ends up reflecting exactly what the framework indicates.