MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Separate shootings rock US during the weekend

“We've seen enough of this,” Gov. Hochul said.

The United States was shaken this past weekend by various shooting sprees nationwide. On Saturday, ten people were killed in a supermarket in Buffalo, New York, and three others were injured and on Sunday similar events in California and Texas, have left at least three more people dead.

California police reported one person had died and at least four others were left in a critical condition at a church in Laguna Woods. Another victim had minor injuries, the Orange County Sheriff's Department said. The suspected perpetrator was an Asian man in his 60s, who was not believed to belong to the local community.

Meanwhile, it was reported that the 18-year-old perpetrator of the massacre in Buffalo had written a note some time ago that he wanted to commit a mass shooting. He killed ten people Saturday and wounded three others, mostly African Americans.

Buffalo Police Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia acknowledged during a press conference Sunday that in June of last year, the attacker, identified as Payton Gendron, made a “generalized threat, but not a specific threat directed toward a specific place or person.”

Gendron drove 200 miles from Conklin Saturday to Buffalo and exited the vehicle armed, wearing a bulletproof vest, a helmet, and a camera with which he live-streamed the massacre via Twitch, before turning himself in. Investigators believe the man has left a written manifesto as well. Gendron, a white man, wrote that he wanted to kill all blacks.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul also explained that the attacker had chosen that neighborhood because it was a black majority area. “This was not a random act of violence. We've seen enough of this. We see what happens when there are too many guns on our streets and people get angry or are in the middle of a gang battle and there are innocent victims,” Hochul said.

Gendron has been charged with first-degree murder for killing 10 people, including a retired police officer working as a security guard who confronted him. The mother of retired Buffalo Fire Commissioner Garnell Whitfield was also among the victims.

Meanwhile, in Harris County, Texas, 2 men were killed and 3 others were critically injured after a shooting at a crowded flea market in north Houston. The victims were pronounced dead at the scene and the wounded were rushed to nearby hospitals for treatment.

Investigators explained all five people apparently knew each other. They all appear to be in their early- to mid-20s, it was also reported. Two other people were arrested over the incident, it was reported. One suspect who was not injured has been charged with tampering with evidence.

No bystanders were injured although the flea market was very busy at the time of the shooting.