Скачать или смотреть Group protests reopening of renovated Tops Market on Jefferson Avenue

A group is protesting the reopening of the renovated Tops Market on Jefferson Avenue.
Not everyone is happy about the Tops store on Jefferson Avenue reopening.
On Friday, the day the store reopened, a small group of protesters gathered outside the store with a message for the store owners and community leaders.
Two months ago, ten Black people were killed when a then-18-year-old gunman wearing body armor and carrying a semi-automatic rifle opened fire on weekend shoppers and employees. Three people were wounded in the massacre.
The decision to reopen, rather than relocate, the store has been met with mixed emotions in the East Buffalo neighborhood that, beset by high poverty, fought for years to get a grocery store. Since opening in 2003, the Tops location remains the only supermarket in the immediate area. Its closure in the wake of the shooting forced many residents to take buses to other locations or rely on stopgap measures like neighborhood giveaways to access fresh food.
"We just feel as though this is not the answer, to throw some paint on a place where people were murdered and just forget about it and heal or move forward. it's too soon," said Anthony X, one of the protesters.
Those protesting say they would prefer to see a memorial for the victims, or a black-owned business in the space.
Investigators say the shooter was motivated by white supremacist beliefs and researched the demographics of the predominantly Black neighborhood where the market is located with the intent of killing as many Black people as possible. He drove for more than three hours from his home in Conklin, New York, to carry out the attack, authorities said.
Payton Gendron, 19, of Conklin, New York was indicted on 14 violations of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act (Shepard-Byrd Act) and 13 firearms offenses in connection with the mass shooting.
The indictment alleges the suspect opened fire at the grocery store with a Bushmaster XM rifle. It also charges that the suspect violated the Shepard-Byrd Act by willfully causing the death of the victims because of their actual and perceived race and color.
Of the charges against the alleged shooter for violation of the Shepard-Byrd Act, 10 counts are of hate crimes resulting in death, three counts are of hate crimes involving an attempt to kill three injured individuals, and one hate crimes count alleging that Gendron attempted to kill additional Black people in and around the Tops grocery store.
The indictment also includes special findings alleging the suspect committed the crimes after "substantial planning and premeditation to commit an act of terrorism."
(This article contains reporting from Carolyn Thompson of the Associated Press)
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