BUFFALO, N.Y. — Following the mass shooting in a Buffalo, New York, supermarket that claimed the lives of 10 innocent people, many are frustrated about some red flags that may have been overlooked, including social media posts and past threats.
That includes local NAACP president, Corine Mack. She told Channel 9′s DaShawn Brown that one of the victims was a relative of hers. She said it’s already difficult suffering such a personal loss, then add on the weight and trauma from an attack on an entire race of people.
“This woman depicted the love of God and this 18-year-old white man took her life as if she didn’t matter, but she did,” Mack said.
Mack said she shared condolences on social media, not knowing among the ten people murdered in Buffalo was family.
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“Cousin by marriage, but it didn’t feel like marriage because her youngest son, Raymond and I, were very, very close. One of my favorite people in the world. And that is directly because of how she raised him,” Mack said.
At 86-years-old, Ruth Whitfield -- the oldest victim among ten -- who were gunned down at a grocery store Saturday afternoon -- all of them Black. Almost immediately, authorities said it was a hate crime.
“A white man who was indoctrinated into a world and system of hate, and my family, and nine other families, are directly affected by every other Black person in this country who has any level of consciousness is also affected,” Mack said. “Because we all know at any given time, at any given moment, it could be one of us.”
For Malcolm Graham, the heartbreak hits home.
“I made a pledge right from the very start that I would be Cynthia’s voice and say things that she couldn’t say,” he said.
In 2015, Graham’s sister’s life was stolen by an admitted white supremacist. Cynthis Graham Hurd was one of nine people killed at Mother Emanuel in Charleston.
“After Cynthia passed, I wrote so many editorials and op-eds -- one about guns and common sense gun legislation and mass shootings. But then there was Las Vegas and Charlottesville and Pittsburgh, Orlando, what happened in Texas. It’s not shocking anymore,” he said.
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Though Mack and Graham said it’s a call to action.
“I really want to educate the Black community and the white community, who is willing to hear the truth that racism has always been a condition that harmed Black people,” Mack said.
“This whole issue about racism. It’s killing people. Literally,” Graham said.
They both said any action plan has to start with acknowledging that racism still exists, but also educating everyone on both the history and what it looks like now.
Expert says red flags missed before mass shooting
Investigators are calling the mass shooting in Buffalo a hate crime, and one expert told Channel 9 that red flags were missed before the shooting.
Authorities said the 18-year-old suspect, Peyton Gendron, has previous threats of violence and is accused of posting extremist views on social media.
“This is domestic terrorism. If you are trying to force your ideology onto people by force and through violence, that is domestic terrorism. I think the FBI is appropriately focused on this,” said Chris Swecker, an attorney and former assistant director of the FBI’s criminal investigations.
He said right now, law enforcement will be trying to determine how they could have stopped the suspected shooting in Buffalo.
“I think they get so much of this that they get numb to it and they don’t run the leads out. They don’t run it out to the logical conclusion,” Swecker said.
Often times, he said it comes down to the community being vigilant or reporting something posted online. He said in this case, like many, the red flags were there.
“It’s that they are talking about violence. They are expressing that they may do something or they are showing themselves or posting themselves with weapons or guns. As I’ve seen in other cases, posting executions, posting violent scenes, associating themselves with groups that are violent,” he said.
Swecker believes proposed legislation for red flag laws would prevent some people from having a gun.
“In my opinion, he would have been a prime candidate. He had an AK-47 with an extended magazine. He should never have had that weapon in his hands,” Swecker said.
Therapist shares advice for mental health when experiencing racial trauma
While law enforcement examines how to prevent it, as a country, we are again experiencing a collective trauma and specifically, racial trauma.
Therapist Veronda Bellamay suggests surrounding yourself with people who support you.
“From a mental health standpoint, lets slow our system down, lets slow down. Lets get around people that really do want to celebrate us, that really does love us, that really does love the contributions that we make,” she said.
Bellamay also said to take action however you can, whether it’s going to the polls or volunteering in the community.
If you feel overwhelmed, it may also help to speak to a professional.
“Sometimes you need to reach out to a professional to really help you understand trauma in a way you are able to move beyond it. When you are traumatized, your body remembers that,” Bellamay said.
‘Cross our fingers’: Local grocer prays shoppers are safe
The Giant Penny in northeast Charlotte has been an institution on The Plaza for years.
It is minority-owned and most of the shoppers are people of color. The Giant Penny is like the store that was targeted in New York.
“We always think, ‘Cross our fingers and pray (to) God that will never happen here,” owner Billy Tran told reporter Glenn Counts.
Many shoppers in the store on Monday were thinking about the mass shooting.
(WATCH BELOW: Local grocer prays shoppers are safe)
“I feel like they are ready to take us all out sometimes because they are threatened by us, and I don’t know why,” shopper Dondra Page said.
Page is a frequent customer at the Giant Penny and the shooting in Buffalo has affected her emotionally.
“Well, I find it so difficult and hard that even after the pandemic that we’re going back to these types of killings,” Page said.
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