Law enforcement officials say the Buffalo, New York, supermarket shooting has underscored their long-held fear that someone could be radicalized online, have access to guns, take inspiration from prior attacks and then carry out an act of murderous violence against a soft target, like a grocery store.
Evidence points to the Buffalo shooting being a calculated, racially-motivated execution by a teenager who appeared to have been targeting Black people, according to multiple sources and a review of FBI cases and testimony.
A hate-filled document apparently written by Gendron and posted online includes the radical notion that white people are being replaced in the U.S. The teen gunman allegedly wanted a race war and live-streamed the attack in an apparent effort to spur others to kill minorities, sources said.
ABC News’ National Security Analyst John Cohen discusses DHS’s concerns about online radicalization. He also delves deeper into the security risks of such attacks like the one in Buffalo.
