‘CLOSE CALL’

Tops Security Guard Questioned Buffalo Shooter in March, Chat Logs Show

Payton Gendron visited Tops supermarket on March 8 while planning his racist attack, according to his logs on the messaging app Discord.

Payton Gendron, the suspect in Saturday’s mass shooting at a Tops supermarket in Buffalo, reportedly visited the store in March while planning his attack, according to his online chat logs. The logs were published on Discord under the name “jimboboiii,” a handle used by the suspect on other platforms, and include photos of Gendron. On March 8, Gendron alleged he was confronted by a security guard at Tops while compiling information about the store. According to the logs, the security guard asked, “I’ve seen you go in and out … What are you doing?” Gendron said he replied that he was “collecting consensus data” before returning to his car. “In hindsight that was a close call,” he said. The logs refer to Tops as “attack area 1” and notes two other locations to “shoot all blacks.” Buffalo Police Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia said that officials believe the gunman planned to attack more locations, telling CNN that they reached the conclusion based on “some documentation.”