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On May 14, 2022, a White Supremacist Gunman Murdered Ten Black People and Injured Three Others in Racist Domestic Terror Attack on a Predominantly Black Community

As Racism and Hatred Continue, Kennedy Calls for Country to Come Together to Reject Violence and Bigotry in all Forms

WASHINGTON, D.C. - As Western New Yorkers commemorate the fourth anniversary of the racially-motivated May 14, 2022 Tops Supermarket shooting that claimed the lives of ten innocent people and injured three others, Congressman Tim Kennedy (NY-26) led his colleagues in honoring the victims and survivors. Joined by his colleagues, including members of the Congressional Black Caucus and the Gun Violence Prevention Task Force, Kennedy’s remarks shined a spotlight on the dangers of weapons of war, the heroism shown by Lt. Aaron Salter, Jr., and the rich lives lived by the victims of the attack.

Kennedy sponsors the Aaron Salter, Jr. Responsible Body Armor Possession Act (H.R.3398), which would limit the purchase, ownership, or possession of enhanced body armor to the military and law enforcement. The legislation is named in honor of Lt. Salter, a retired Buffalo Police Officer who was working as a security guard on the day of the attack. Salter was able to retrieve his sidearm and open fire on the assailant, however his rounds were unable to penetrate the shooter’s military-grade body armor. Though he lost his own, Lt. Salter’s bravery undoubtedly saved lives, buying precious moments for customers and employees to hide or escape. 

Full video of 5/14/26 Special Order Hour Available Here

“Entire generations of children have now grown up with the normalization of mass shootings,” said Congressman Kennedy. “That reality cannot become normal, we must not allow it to become a permanent reality. On the fourth anniversary of this tragedy, we must use this opportunity to advocate for the advancement of commonsense gun violence prevention legislation in the name of every single person we have lost because of a lack of it. We must condemn acts of hateful, racist violence in all forms. And we must come together as Americans to ensure that our supermarkets, our places of worship, our schools, and everywhere else in our community are free from the scourge of gun violence. This body has a moral obligation to take action.”

In addition, Kennedy noted the continuing scourge of white supremacy, a despicable worldview that led the perpetrator to plan his attack on the only supermarket in a predominantly Black community on Buffalo’s East Side. Among the survivors was Zaire Goodman, son of then-Senator Kennedy’s Director of Diversity and Inclusion, Zeneta Everhart. In the wake of the shooting, Kennedy accompanied Everhart to Capitol Hill as she testified before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. Weeks later, the first gun violence legislation in nearly three decades was passed and signed into law.

Following the shooting, New York State enacted a package of enhanced gun violence legislation, including raising the age of possession of semiautomatic rifles, banning the civilian purchase of body armor, and strengthening red flag laws. Kennedy, a then-State Senator, helped to lead passage of the legislation.

On May 14, 2022, a racist gunman drove nearly three hours to Tops Friendly Markets on Jefferson Avenue in the City of Buffalo, intent on carrying out a massacre of Black people. The perpetrator, who had planned his attack in detail, livestreamed the terrorist attack. In a matter of just over two minutes, ten lives were callously stolen, and three more individuals were severely injured. Numerous other customers, employees, and first responders carry emotional scars to this day.

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