Police release names of victims killed in Buffalo mass shooting, including ‘hero’ guard Aaron Salter

Right here is the total record supplied by police:

Roberta A. Drury of Buffalo, NY – age 32
Margus D. Morrison of Buffalo, NY – age 52
Andre Mackneil of Auburn, NY – age 53
Aaron Salter of Lockport, NY – age 55
Geraldine Talley of Buffalo, NY – age 62
Celestine Chaney of Buffalo, NY – age 65
Heyward Patterson of Buffalo, NY – age 67
Katherine Massey of Buffalo, NY – age 72
Pearl Younger of Buffalo, NY – age 77
Ruth Whitfield of Buffalo, NY – age 86

Aaron Salter was a beloved neighborhood member and safety guard who knew the consumers of Tops Pleasant Market by title. After they got here beneath assault from a gunman with a rifle, he shortly sprung into motion to guard his neighborhood.

The retired Buffalo police officer fired a number of instances on the attacker, putting his armor-plated vest a minimum of as soon as. The bullet did not pierce, and Salter was shot and killed.

“He is a real hero,” Buffalo Police Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia stated Sunday. “There might have been extra victims if not for his actions.”

Salter was one in every of 10 killed in an assault whose victims represented a cross-section of life within the predominantly Black neighborhood in Buffalo, New York. They had been gunned down by a white man who authorities say confirmed up on the retailer with the “specific objective” of killing Black individuals. Three others had been wounded.

Salter, who was Black, “cared in regards to the neighborhood. He taken care of the shop,” stated native resident Yvette Mack. She remembered him as somebody who “tell us if we was proper or unsuitable.”

Mack would stroll to the shop to play lottery numbers and store. She stated she spoke to Salter shortly earlier than the capturing.

“I used to be taking part in my numbers. He stated ‘I see you are taking part in your numbers!’ I laughed. And he was taking part in his numbers too. Are you able to think about seeing somebody, and you do not know he is not going to go dwelling?” she stated.

The individuals Salter tried to guard embrace a person who was on the town visiting kin and was selecting up a shock birthday cake for his grandson.

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“He by no means got here out with the cake,” Clarissa Alston-McCutcheon stated of her cousin. She stated this form of shock was typical for him. He was “only a loving and caring man. Liked household. Was all the time there for his household.”

Ruth Whitfield was the 86-year-old mom of retired Buffalo Hearth Commissioner Garnell Whitfield. She had simply visited her husband at a nursing dwelling, as she did on daily basis, when she stopped at Tops to purchase just a few groceries and was killed, her son informed The Buffalo Information.

Ruth Whitfield was “a mom to the motherless” and “a blessing to all of us,” her son stated. He attributed her power and dedication to household to her sturdy spiritual religion.

“She impressed me to be a person of God, and to do no matter I do the most effective I might do. I would not have been capable of do it with out her,” Garnell Whitfield stated.

Roberta Drury had just lately returned dwelling to stay together with her mom, Dezzelynn McDuffie, who informed The Buffalo Information that the 32 yr outdated had walked to Tops to choose up some groceries Saturday afternoon. Quickly, McDuffie noticed horrifying movies circulating on social media that appeared to indicate the gunman capturing her daughter simply exterior the shop.

Additionally killed was shopper Katherine Massey, whose sister, Barbara Massey, referred to as her “a lovely soul,” and Haywood Patterson, who labored as a driver, giving individuals rides to and from Tops and serving to them with groceries.

Patterson was loading an aged girl’s groceries into his automotive when he was killed, pal Tony Sanders informed The Buffalo Information. Sanders stated Patterson’s first title was Heyward, though a church bulletin listed him as Haywood. Sanders stated Patterson was a deacon in his church and “my greatest pal.”

Zaire Goodman, 20, was among the many wounded, having been shot within the neck, state Sen. Tim Kennedy informed a church service on Sunday. Goodman is the son of a staffer for Kennedy.

“I am devastated. I am offended,” Kennedy stated, including that Goodman was recovering. “And I am eager about the households who will not welcome a beloved one dwelling tonight.”

ABC7 Chicago contributed to this report.