Payton Gendron’s girlfriend, Skylar McClain, opened up about being with him.Â
Payton Gendron had two close friends – a Hispanic man and his black girlfriend. According to Skylar McClain, 19, she had known him since sixth grade but only began communicating with him last December when he started hanging out with her boyfriend.
Matt Casado, another friend of Gendron’s, said that after 11th grade Gendron was considered weird because none of his other friends wanted to spend time with him.
On Saturday, Gendron drove 200 miles from his New York home to Buffalo in order to open fire in a predominantly black area supermarket. Unfortunately, 10 people were killed in the attack, and two others were injured.Â
A 180-page manifesto posted online by Gendron revealed an extreme racist theory at the heart of his writings – that whites are being replaced by non-whites, who must be driven out of the country or slaughtered.
Before beginning his drive north, he sent an additional rifle and 5.66 mm high caliber ammunition to Matt Casado’s mobile home as well as evidence in two more boxes.
Unfortunately, this horrific event has reminded us just how prevalent racism and white supremacy are in our society today. We must stay vigilant against these hateful ideologies and not let them take root elsewhere again.