Buffalo Shooting Suspect Was Previously Investigated for Making a Violent Threat: Report

Much of the reporting in the hours following the Buffalo supermarket shooting has centered around the online rhetoric of Payton Gendron, the suspect alleged to have gunned down 10 people in a supermarket in Buffalo and thought to have published a racist manifesto in advance of the attack. Now, a new report reveals that authorities had Gendron on their radar well before Saturday’s shooting.

According to NBC News, the 18-year-old Gendron was investigated by New York State Police last June for making a threatening statement. While a state police spokesperson did not officially confirm Gendron was the suspect, the spokesperson did tell NBC that the suspect in the investigation was taken to the hospital for a mental health evaluation before he was released.

Buffalo police commissioner Joseph Gramaglia billed Saturday’s shooting an “absolute racist hate crime,” but said there are limits to how law enforcement can legally monitor a person who is making threats. At a news conference Sunday, Gramaglia added that there were no additional signs tipping off state or federal authorities that Gendron was planning this type of attack.

“There was nothing picked up on the state police intelligence, nothing picked up on the FBI intelligence,” Gramglia said.

Have a tip we should know? tips@mediaite.com