According to a court document, federal prosecutors are set to pursue the death penalty for the White gunman involved in a racist mass shooting at a Buffalo, New York, supermarket in 2022.
Payton Gendron, 20, is facing several hate crimes and firearms charges in the shooting at the supermarket where he killed 10 Black people. He is already serving a life sentence after pleading guilty last year to New York state terrorism and murder charges.
In court, Gendron’s lawyers said he would be willing to plead guilty to the federal counts if prosecutors agreed not to pursue the death penalty.
This marks the first time the Justice Department under President Joe Biden has authorized the pursuit of the death penalty.
More on the Buffalo mass shooting and death penalty.