There has been an update in the Tops Friendly Market shooting in Buffalo, New York that has Governor Kathy Hochul in the hot seat.
The alleged gunman Payton Gendron, 18, of Conklin, New York who is reported to have killed 10 people and injured 3 was known to the State Police.
In 2021, New York State Police investigated Gendron after a school official reported that he was making troubling statements.
“A school official reported that this very troubled young man had made statements indicating that he wanted to do a shooting, either at a graduation ceremony, or sometime after,” a government official told Buffalo News.
Under New York’s mental health laws Gendron was referred for a mental health evaluation and counseling but there was no follow-up.
Governor Kathy Hochul doesn’t want to talk about it either.
Two law enforcement officials told The Post that the suspect arrested in connection with the shooting was investigated less than a year ago by New York state police after receiving a report that he had made a threatening statement at his high school.https://t.co/kzdBNhjx0q
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) May 15, 2022
What’s even more interesting is that New York law enforcement could have used the state’s red flag laws to prohibit Gendron from being able to purchase firearms but for some unknown reason decided against it.
From CBS News:
He [Gendron] was later cleared following a mental evaluation, said Kathy Hochul, New York’s governor. State police told The Times that it had not sought a red-flag order against the suspect.
After the news broke Hochul was forced to order an investigation.
“There was nothing that flagged that he wouldn’t be able to — from that encounter, at the time — be able to go into a store and purchase a gun,” she said, per the outlet. “Now, we need to question that, as well. There’s a lot of layers here that we need to get to the bottom of and find out if changes need to be made.”
