The white man suspected of killing 10 Black people in a racist mass shooting at a grocery store in Buffalo, New York, in May will enter a guilty plea to a 25-count state indictment, an attorney representing victims’ families said Thursday.
“It avoids a lengthy trial that they believe would be very difficult for the families,” said attorney Terrence Connors of the plea. “I think it was pretty clear that they had no real defense.”
Conors said he represents seven families who lost loved ones in the massacre at Tops Friendly Market carried out by Payton Gendron, now 19, and the families of two people who are seriously injured.
The shooter’s attorney, Dan DuBois, said his office could not comment because of a gag order.
Connors believes the “key strategy behind the plea is it might make it easier …. to claim there’s no need for the death penalty” to federal prosecutors, he added.
As for the victims’ families reactions to the expected guilty plea, Connors said: “From their standpoint, the shooter is really someone who is largely irrelevant to their lives.”
The families, he said, have spent the months since the shooting advocating for legislative changes and economic development in Buffalo.
Connors’ office is also “continuing our investigation to hold others accountable,” he said.
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“We’re on the cusp of developing [civil] claims against others,” he said.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
