Exactly a year to the moment when a white man who drove more than 200 miles to Buffalo with the sole purpose of killing as many Black people as he could carried out a deadly rampage at the Tops Markets on Jefferson Avenue, Buffalo paused to remember.
Hundreds were gathered Sunday in the same parking lot where the slaughter began. The store was closed for the day. Jefferson was shut down to traffic as dozens of police patrolled the area.
As 2:28 p.m. approached, Mayor Byron W. Brown read the names of the 10 lives lost last May 14.
Roberta A. Drury: She was about to walk home after buying a few items when the gunman opened fire.
Margus D. Morrison: He was shopping.
Andre Mackniel: He was buying a birthday cake for his 3-year-old son.
Aaron Salter Jr: He was covering a co-worker’s shift.
Geraldine Talley: She was on her way to get cold cuts for sandwiches as her fiance went to get iced tea.
Celestine Chaney: She was shopping with her sister to pick up shrimp, strawberries and shortcake cups.
Heyward Patterson: A jitney driver who gave rides to shoppers, he was standing by his car.
Katherine Massey: She was shopping and was planning on being picked up by her brother.
Pearl Young: She had been dropped off by her sister-in-law after a prayer breakfast.
Ruth Whitfield: After visiting her husband at the nursing home, she wanted to buy some seeds for her garden.
The mayor also named the three Tops workers who were wounded: Zaire Goodman, who was helping a customer; Jennifer Warrington, a pharmacist; and Christopher Braden, the store manager who was in the front of the market.
Brown then called for a moment of silence, and the normally bustling neighborhood grew quiet, except for the sobs of one woman who was overcome.
A firefighter rang a ceremonial bell. Many in the crowd looked up to the sky and noticed an ethereal halo had formed around the sun.
The service ended with a stirring message from Rev. Rachelle Robinson, senior pastor at New Covenant United…
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