Buffalo shooting suspect plans to plead guilty
STORY: The white man accused of going on a deadly, racially motivated shooting spree in Buffalo, New York, has changed his mind about pleading not guilty in his case.
That’s according to Terrence Connors, a lawyer for the some of the victims’ families and surviving victims, on Thursday.
Peyton Gendron plans to accept responsibility for all 25 counts of charges against him at a hearing to be held next Monday, according to Connors.
The lawyer also said there was no "plea agreement" with prosecutors.
Gendron had pleaded not guilty to the charges in June.
His attorney did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Gendron was 18 when he went on the shooting rampage in May, at a supermarket in a predominantly African-American neighborhood of Buffalo, killing 10 Black people and wounding three people.
He also filmed the assault and streamed it live.
Among his charges: multiple counts of first-degree and second-degree murder, all of them as hate crimes.
As well as attempted murder and one count of illegal weapon possession.
He also faces a single count of domestic terrorism motivated by hate.
That makes him the first person charged under a newly enacted New York state statute.
The guilty plea would mean the case against Gendron will not go to trial.
He could face life in prison or the death penalty on the state charges.
