The relatives of 86-year-old Ruth Whitfield, the oldest victim slain in this weekend’s mass shooting in Buffalo, New York, were overcome with emotion at a news conference on Monday.
Ruth Whitfield was a loving wife of 68 years, a devoted mother of four children and a beloved grandmother, her family said.
She was among the 10 people, all of whom were Black, who were gunned down in a mass shooting at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York. Authorities are calling Saturday’s massacre a “racially motivated hate crime.”
Through tears and hugs, her family gathered on Monday to speak to reporters alongside attorneys including civil rights attorney Ben Crump. One family member broke down and sobbed multiple times during the news conference.
Names of people shot dead by Payton Gendron:
Roberta A. Drury, 32, of Buffalo
• Margus D. Morrison, 52, of Buffalo
• Andre Mackniel, 53, of Auburn, New York
• Aaron Salter, 55, of Lockport, New York
• Geraldine Talley, 62, of Buffalo
• Celestine Chaney, 65, of Buffalo
• Heyward Patterson, 67, of Buffalo
• Katherine Massey, 72, of Buffalo
• Pearl Young, 77, of Buffalo
• Ruth Whitfield, 86, of Buffalo
• Zaire Goodman, 20, of Buffalo, was treated and released from hospital
• Jennifer Warrington, 50, of Tonawanda, New York, was treated and released from hospital
Christopher Braden, 55, of Lackawanna, New York, had non-life-threatening injuries
Gov. Kathy Hochul has announced $2.8 million in funding for the victims and their families, according to a statement from her office. GoFundMe has also compiled a list of verified fundraisers dedicated to helping in the wake of the tragedy.
New York state’s Office of Victim Services will be in Buffalo throughout the week to help administer funding and assist victims and families in obtaining financial assistance from the state, the statement read.
The suspected shooter — Payton S. Gendron, an 18-year-old White man — traveled hours to target the Tops Friendly Markets store in a predominantly Black neighborhood, Mayor Byron Brown said.
Investigators are also reviewing a hateful rant posted online Saturday in connection with the shooting probe, two federal law enforcement officials told CNN. The statement’s author describes himself as a fascist, a White supremacist and an anti-Semite.
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