Payton Gendron,18, the gunman who killed ten people in a racially motivated mass shooting at a Tops Friendly Market in Buffalo, New York on Saturday, live-streamed the assault on Twitch, a popular livestreaming platform best known for gaming.
According to CNN, the video was taken from the point of view of the shooter as he’s driving into the parking lot of the supermarket. The shooter, who is seen in the rearview mirror wearing a helmet, is heard saying, “Just got to go for it” before he pulls into the front of the store.
Gendron shot 13 people, 10 fatally. Four of the people who were shot were store employees, including a security guard. Out of the 13 victims, 11 are Black while two are White, according to Buffalo police commissioner Joseph Gramaglia.
“We are devastated to hear about the shooting that took place this afternoon in Buffalo, New York. Our hearts go out to the community impacted by this tragedy. Twitch has a zero-tolerance policy against violence of any kind and works swiftly to respond to all incidents. The user has been indefinitely suspended from our service, and we are taking all appropriate action, including monitoring for any accounts rebroadcasting this content,” Twitch said in a statement.
Authorities say Gendron live-streamed the attack using a camera that was attached to the tactical helmet he was wearing.
The company said the video was removed within two minutes of the start of the violence and that Gendron “has been indefinitely suspended from our service.”
Gendron was arraigned and charged with murder in the first degree on Saturday, to which he pleaded not guilty.
