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Buffalo shooting victims: ‘Hero’ guard and teacher who was ‘a pillar of the community’ are among the 10 killed
Thirteen people, ages 20 to 86, were shot. Eleven were Black and two were White, Buffalo police said.
• Roberta A. Drury, 32, of Buffalo
• Margus D. Morrison, 52, of Buffalo
• Andre Mackneil, 53, of Auburn, New York
• Aaron Salter, 55, of Lockport, New York
• Geraldine Talley, 62, of Buffalo
• Celestine Chaney, 65, of Buffalo
• Heyward Patterson, 67, of Buffalo
• Katherine Massey, 72, of Buffalo
• Pearl Young, 77, of Buffalo
• Ruth Whitfield, 86, of Buffalo
• Zaire Goodman, 20, of Buffalo, was treated and released from hospital
• Jennifer Warrington, 50, of Tonawanda, New York, was treated and released from hospital
• Christopher Braden, 55, of Lackawanna, New York, had non-life-threatening injuries
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced $2.8 million in funding for the victims and their families, according to a statement from her office.
“The past 24 hours have been traumatizing for New Yorkers,” Hochul said in a statement Sunday. “The entire world is watching how we will come together as New Yorkers to overcome this unthinkable tragedy. Buffalo, my hometown, is the City of Good Neighbors and New York State will be good neighbors for them.”
New York state’s Office of Victim Services will be in Buffalo throughout the week to help administer funding and assist victims and families in obtaining financial assistance from the state, the statement read.
The suspected shooter — Payton S. Gendron, an 18-year-old White man — traveled hours to target the Tops Friendly Markets store in a predominantly Black neighborhood, Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown said.
Investigators are also reviewing a purported manifesto posted online Saturday in connection with the shooting probe, two federal law enforcement officials told CNN. The manifesto’s author describes himself as a fascist, a White supremacist and an anti-Semite.
Details the victims and their lives have started to emerge.
Here’s what we know about them.
Aaron Salter
The “hero” security guard who engaged the suspect but was fatally shot was Aaron Salter, a former Buffalo police lieutenant, said the mayor.
Salter was well respected throughout the police department, Brown told CNN’s “New Day Weekend,” and had worked at the supermarket for several years after retiring.
Salter “is a hero who tried to protect people in the store, tried to save lives and in the process, lost his own life,” Brown said.
The supermarket’s security guard “fired multiple shots at the suspect” when he entered the store, Buffalo Police Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia said, but the suspect was wearing tactical gear that protected him from the guard’s gunfire.
Ruth Whitfield
Also killed was 86-year-old Ruth Whitfield, the mother of former Buffalo Fire Commissioner Garnell Whitfield, Brown told CNN.
The mayor had seen her son walking on Jefferson Avenue, the road outside the supermarket, and assumed Garnell Whitfield was there to lend a hand, Brown recalled Sunday to worshipers at the True Bethel Baptist Church. The mayor asked the former fire commissioner if he was there to help.
“He said, ‘Yes, mayor. But I’m here because I’m looking for my mother,'” Brown said.
Ruth Whitfield had been visiting the former commissioner’s father in the nursing home, as she did each day, he told the mayor, and she stopped at the supermarket to buy some groceries.
“We’ve been calling her and she’s not answering the cell phone. And her car is still in the parking lot. And I’m afraid that she’s one of the victims of this shooting,” Brown recalled Garnell Whitfield saying.
His fears were later confirmed, Brown said.
Speaking at the same event, Hochul said, “We must do something about this.”
“I thought I was strong,” she said, “but hearing the mayor tell the story of our commissioner who’s dedicated his life to saving lives and loses his mother over an act of racism and White supremacy in this community — now I’m angry, my friends.”
Pearl Young
Pearl Young, 77, was a substitute teacher and a “true pillar in the community,” her family said in a statement.
“Pearl was a long-term substitute teacher with the Buffalo Public School District and recently worked at Emerson School of Hospitality,” according to the statement.
“If there is one consolation that we can take from this tragedy is that we know that mom is up in heaven with our dad (her Ollie) and dancing and shouting with our heavenly father,” the statement read.
Geraldine Talley
Geraldine Talley, 62, was doing her regular grocery shopping with her fiancé on Saturday when she was shot and killed, her niece Lakesha Chapman told CNN.
Talley was Chapman’s “Auntie Gerri,” her father’s little sister and an amazing woman, she said.
Chapman lives in Atlanta and had just arrived in Buffalo to be with family on Sunday when she talked to CNN by telephone.
Chapman called Talley her “Auntie Gerri” and said she was an amazing woman. She said Talley was her father’s little sister.
“She’s sweet, sweet, you know, the life of the party,” Chapman said. “She was the person who always put our family reunion together, she was an avid baker … mother of two beautiful children.”
“She was just a lover. I mean she didn’t meet a stranger, and that’s why this hurts so much,” said Chapman, who lives in Atlanta and had just arrived in Buffalo to be with family on Sunday when she talked to CNN by telephone.
Chapman said Talley was at the front of the store when the shooting started and her fiancé had gone to get orange juice, so he was able to escape unharmed.
Five hours went by before her family found out she had been killed, Chapman said.
“We’re outraged,” she said. “This is not, obviously, the first racially triggered attack in America. However it is the first that hits our home.”
It is “the most numbing, numbing feeling ever,” she said.
“She was shopping and this man comes out of his neighborhood to attack because of her skin color, because of her ZIP code, you know, because it was predominantly Black,” Chapman said. “She was innocent. And it’s — there’s no words to describe it.”
CNN’s Artemis Moshtaghian, David Williams and Caroll Alvarado contributed to this report.
Two Hong Kong universities remove Tiananmen artworks after Pillar of Shame dismantled | Hong Kong
Two more Hong Kong universities have removed works of art marking Beijing’s deadly 1989 crackdown on Tiananmen Square democracy protesters, as authorities move to erase memorials to the event.
The removals come a day after Hong Kong’s oldest university took down a statue named the Pillar of Shame, commemorating the events of 1989, sparking outcry by activists and dissident artists in the city and abroad.
Hong Kong used to be the one place in China where mass remembrance of Tiananmen was still tolerated, with thousands gathering each year to mourn the hundreds of democracy protesters killed by Chinese troops in 1989.
The city’s university campuses have sustained the memory of the crackdown, with statues commemorating the events a vivid illustration of the freedoms the semi-autonomous territory enjoyed.
But early on Friday, the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) removed the Goddess of Democracy from its campus.
The sculpture by Chen Weiming – a 6.4-metre (21ft) high replica of the giant statue that students erected in Tiananmen Square – had become a potent symbol of Hong Kong’s local democracy movement. Around the same time, the Lingnan University of Hong Kong removed another relief sculpture marking the Tiananmen crackdown.
The removals took place on Christmas Eve, when most students were on break and away from campus.
CUHK said it removed the “unauthorised statue” after an internal assessment, adding that the groups responsible for moving it to the campus in 2010 were no longer functional.
Lingnan University said it had taken down a wall relief, also created by Chen, after having “reviewed and assessed items on campus that may pose legal and safety risks to the university community”.
The erasure came overnight again – #CUHK people woke up and found the Goddess of Democracy statue gone , meanwhile in Lingnan University a relievo wall about June 4 has been removed. LingU said it’s for the “general interest of the university community” while CU so far silent. pic.twitter.com/ME58jnnuG2
— Xinqi Su 蘇昕琪 (@XinqiSu) December 24, 2021
Chen told Hong Kong Free Press he would be speaking to his lawyers about the removal of his work.
“It is a major regret,” he said. “I am concerned about whether the monuments are damaged and where they are placed currently. When I have more information. I will contact my lawyers in the US to see if any legal actions can be taken.”
“They acted like a thief in the night”, he told AFP. “They were afraid of exposure and of a backlash from students and alumni.”
The move sparked anguish among former students of CUHK.
“I feel heartbroken and shocked,” said Felix Chow, a former Chinese University student and district councillor.
“This statue represents the school environment is open. It’s a symbol of academic freedom … It makes people doubt whether the school can still ensure the space is free and people can speak freely,” he told Reuters.
On Thursday the removal of the Pillar of Shame at Hong Kong University was decried by dissidents and activists living overseas.
“They have used this despicable act in an attempt to erase this bloodstained chapter of history,” Wang Dan, one of the Tiananmen student leaders who was jailed after the crackdown, and now lives in the US, wrote on Facebook.
Samuel Chu, the president of the Campaign for Hong Kong, said: “Its creation in 1997 was a touchstone for freedom in Hong Kong; its destruction in 2021 would be a tombstone for freedom in Hong Kong.”
Beijing is remoulding Hong Kong in its own authoritarian image after democracy protests two years ago, and commemorating Tiananmen has become effectively illegal. An annual candlelight vigil to mark the 4 June crackdown has been banned for the last two years, with authorities citing security and pandemic fears.
There is no official death toll for the Tiananmen massacre but activists believe hundreds, possibly thousands, of people were killed.
With Agence France-Presse
Hong Kong’s famous Tiananmen Square ‘Pillar of Shame’ statue removed
For more than 20 years the “Pillar of Shame” sculpture stood as a memorial to the victims of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre, in which the Chinese military crushed protests led by college students in Beijing with deadly force.
Atop a podium in the University of Hong Kong’s (HKU) campus, the 26-foot-tall (8 meter) statue of contorted human torsos was one of the last iconic memorials to victims of the bloody crackdown remaining on Hong Kong soil.
But around midnight on Thursday, yellow construction barriers were erected around the statue and the sounds of cracking and demolition were heard as the sculpture was removed under the cover of darkness.
Images taken during the removal process show workers wrapping the statue in protective film and lifting it out of the campus on a crane in two distinct parts. The HKU Council, the university’s governing body, said in a statement the sculpture will be held in storage.
Two children look at the “Pillar of Shame” statue at the Hong Kong University campus on October 15, 2021 in Hong Kong. Credit: Louise Delmotte/Getty Images AsiaPac/Getty Images
A witness said Thursday morning the site of the sculpture is now empty and students have been seen crying on campus following the removal. CNN agreed to not disclose the name of this witness because the person feared retribution from authorities.
That fear of retribution is common among those who speak out against authorities in Hong Kong since Beijing imposed the National Security Law on the city in 2020, punishing offenses such as subversion and secession with sentences of up to life in prison.
The HKU Council said in a statement the removal “was based on external legal advice and risk assessment for the best interest of the university.”
The sculpture, which stood in the Haking Wong Building of the university, was part of a series of works by Danish artist Jens Galschiøt created in 1997 — the year Hong Kong was returned to China after more than 150 years of British rule. The sculpture includes the inscription: “The old cannot kill the young forever,” and was built to serve “as a warning and a reminder to people of a shameful event which must never reoccur,” according to the description on Galschiøt’s website.
For three decades, Hong Kong has been the only place on Chinese-controlled soil where an annual mass vigil has been held to mark the events in and around Tiananmen Square on June 4, 1989.
The clampdown remains one of the most tightly censored topics in mainland China, with discussions of it scrubbed from mass media. Chinese authorities have not released an official death toll, but estimates range from several hundred to thousands.
Security guards stand in front of barriers erected around the 26-foot-tall “Pillar of Shame.” Credit: Peter Parks/AFP/Getty Images
After the 1997 handover, the continuation of the vigil and similar memorials were seen as a litmus test for Hong Kong’s ongoing autonomy and democratic freedoms, as promised in its de facto constitution.
However, in the wake of national security law, scores of prominent pro-democracy politicians and activists have been jailed or fled the city, and numerous civil society groups have disbanded.
The last two June 4 vigils have been banned by police, citing coronavirus restrictions. Prominent activists, including Joshua Wong and Media tycoon Jimmy Lai, were later jailed for participating in commemoration events in 2020.
A Hong Kong museum dedicated to the victims of June 4 was forced to close earlier this year and moved its entire collection online citing “political oppression.”
A security guard stands in front of a shipping container as barriers and security people guard “Pillar of Shame” at Hong Kong University, as the sculpture is removed. Credit: Peter Parks/AFP/Getty Images
Following news the sculpture was being dismantled, the artist Galschiøt wrote on his Twitter account, “I’m totally shocked that Hong Kong University is currently destroying the pillar of shame. It is completely unreasonable and a self-immolation against private property in Hong Kong.”
“We encourage everyone to go out to Hong Kong University and document everything that happens with the sculpture,” he added in a statement. We have done everything we can to tell the University of Hong Kong that we would very much like to pick up the sculpture and bring it to Denmark.”
In its statement, HKU Council said, “No party has ever obtained any approval from the University to display the statue on campus, and the University has the right to take appropriate actions to handle it at any time.”
A close-up of the “Pillar of Shame.” Credit: Louise Delmotte/Getty Images AsiaPac/Getty Images
It added the university “is also very concerned about the potential safety issues resulting from the fragile statue. Latest legal advice given to the University cautioned that the continued display of the statue would pose legal risks to the University based on the Crimes Ordinance enacted under the Hong Kong colonial government.”
Efforts to preserve the memory of the sculpture are already underway, with art-activist group Lady Liberty Hong Kong creating a 3-D model made using more than 900 photos in October.
“The idea is that everyone can print a copy it and place it wherever they want,” said Alex Lee, the founder of the group. “In the digital age, there’s no limitation of what you can do with virtual or physical objects — (the hope is) for everyone to try to preserve this symbol.”
Workers remove part of the “Pillar of Shame” statue into a container at University of Hong Kong on December 23. Credit: Anthony Kwan/Getty Images
On Sunday, Hong Kong’s first “China patriots only” legislative election witnessed a record low turnout, reflecting a steep decline in civic and political engagement following Beijing’s overhaul of the city’s electoral processes earlier this year.
Following the vote, Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam traveled to Beijing and met with Chinese Leader Xi Jinping, who endorsed her administration and praised her for moving the city “from chaos to order,” according to a government statement of the meeting.
Calling the election — in which turnout was just 30.2% — a “success” Xi said the city had “made solid progress in promoting democratic development that suits Hong Kong’s reality.”
“The democratic right of Hong Kong compatriots has been shown,” Xi said.
A number of Hong Kong activists who fled abroad labeled the election — in which prospective candidates were first screened by the government — as a “sham,” a criticism echoed by many rights groups and international observers.
Top image: Workers remove part of the “Pillar of Shame” into a container at the University of Hong Kong on December 23, 2021.
Hong Kong University says ‘Pillar of Shame’ statue honoring Tiananmen Square dead must come down
The University of Hong Kong says that a statue paying tribute to the victims of China’s brutal crackdown 1989 on protesters at Tiananmen Square must be removed.
The Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, the now-disbanded group that designed the artwork, said they received a letter from the university to remove the statue by next Wednesday at 5 PM, according to Hong Kong Free Press.
The university reportedly said the decision was “based on the latest risk assessment and legal advice” but did not provide further explanation.
CHINA BASHES US OVER SUB IN SOUTH CHINA SEA AFTER COLLISION WITH UNKNOWN OBJECT
If the 26-foot tall statue, known as the “Pillar of Shame,” is not removed by that time, the letter says “the Sculpture will be deemed abandoned and the University will not consider any future request from you in respect of the Sculpture, and the University will deal with the Sculpture at such time and in such manner as it thinks fit without further notice.”
The group in charge of the sculpture said the request is unreasonable and that it is important to the “social mission and historical responsibility” of the school to keep the statue in place.
The Tiananmen Square massacre occurred on June 4, 1989 and ended months of student-led demonstrations in communist China. It is believed that hundreds, maybe thousands, of protesters were killed during the People’s Liberation Army’s violent crackdown.
The massacre remains a controversial topic in China as Beijing continues to crack down on all challenges to its sovereignty and tighten its grip on Hong Kong.
MLB rumors: Yankees sign reliever Justin Wilson; Mets add outfielder Kevin Pillar
We are fast approaching the start of spring training, and almost all of the big-name free agents are spoken for. That said, it’s still the offseason, and that means rumors can be found. We have found them and rounded them up for Monday. Here they are:
The Yankees have signed left-handed reliever Justin Wilson, per Sweeny Murti of WFAN.
Wilson, 33, spent the last two seasons with the Mets. In 68 appearances in Queens, he posted a 2.91 ERA (143 ERA+) and a 2.39 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Wilson, who pitched for the Yankees in 2015, relies primarily on two pitches: a mid-90s fastball and a cutter, a combination that has allowed him to suppress quality contact the past few years.
Wilson is the second notable addition the Yankees have made to their bullpen recently, joining right-hander Darren O’Day, whom the Yankees signed after moving Adam Ottavino in a trade with the Red Sox.
Mets add Pillar to outfield
The New York Mets have signed free-agent outfielder Kevin Pillar to a one-year deal, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.
Pillar, 32, will give the Mets more outfield depth for the 2021 MLB season. The veteran — who can play all three outfield positions — hit .288/.336/.462 with six home runs, 12 doubles and 26 RBI during the abbreviated 2020 season. Pillar began his 2020 season with the Red Sox before he was traded at the deadline to the Rockies. Pillar has established himself as an elite defender during his eight-year MLB career, and although his numbers aren’t at their peak, he still boasts impressive defensive stats.
The Mets missed out on top free-agent center fielder George Springer this offseason, and the recent Pillar signing may signal that they may be out on free-agent center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr. too. As things stand now, it looks like Pillar could take over in center, which would be a clear upgrade over Brandon Nimmo. Pillar’s played primarily in center and right field throughout his career. Then, they’d have Michael Conforto in right field and Dominic Smith in left. Or, the Mets could stick with Nimmo in left and shift Smith to the bench. They have flexibility with their outfielders.
New York also added outfielder Albert Almora Jr. this winter. Pillar joins Almora, Jose Martinez and Guillermo Heredia as the right-handed outfield options on the Mets 40-player roster, with Smith, Nimmo and Conforto as the left-handed outfielders.
All this to say, these moves don’t necessarily take them out of the running for Bradley Jr. They have been engaged in discussions with the longtime Red Sox outfielder, who entered the offseason ranked by CBS Sports as the 12th-best free agent available. Our own Mike Axisa recently listed the Mets as a good landing spot for JBJ.
Kipnis joins the Braves
Veteran infielder Jason Kipnis tweeted on Monday afternoon that he had signed with the Braves. The deal is a minor-league pact.
Kipnis, 34 in early April, spent last season with the Cubs. He hit .237/.341/.404 (101 OPS+) with three home runs in 135 trips to the plate. It was Kipnis’ finest offensive effort since 2016, as judged by OPS+.
Kipnis figures to compete for a bench spot with the Braves. As it stands, Atlanta is expected to carry backup catcher Alex Jackson, outfielder Ender Inciarte, and infielders Johan Camargo and Adrianza as its reserves.
Twins pick up Shoemaker
The Minnesota Twins have signed veteran starter Matt Shoemaker to a one-year, $2 million deal, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan. The deal is pending a physical and allows Shoemaker to earn another $250,000 in performance bonuses, Passan adds.
Shoemaker, 34, could figure into the Twins rotation as a back-end starter. He’ll be facing competition from right-hander Randy Dobnak and lefty Devin Smeltzer for the No. 5 spot. In 2020, Shoemaker started six games (28 2/3 IP) and recorded a 4.71 ERA (94 ERA+) with 26 strikeouts and nine walks for Toronto.
Over Shoemaker’s last three seasons, he owns a 3.77 ERA to go along with a 23.5 percent strikeout rate and 7.9 percent walk rate in 88 1/3 innings in 18 starts. But, injuries (he’s already undergone surgeries for his forearm and knee) could keep him out of the rotation in 2021. He’s been limited to just six starts per year in the last three. The last time he reached 15 starts in a season came in 2016 with the Angels. The Twins also added free-agent left-hander J.A. Happ to their rotation this winter.
Red Sox sign Sawamura
The Red Sox have agreed to terms with Japanese reliever Hirokazu Sawamura on a two-year deal worth $3 million, per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. The contract includes an option that is said to be “conditional and complex,” but that would push the total value of the deal closer to $8 million.
Sawamura, who will turn 33 in April, made close to 400 appearances during his career in Nippon Professional Baseball. He departs with a 2.82 ERA and a 2.95 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
Ted Baarda of Baseball Info Solutions provided a Sawamura scouting report in December:
Sawamura throws a straight, mid 90s fastball that sits around 96 that he can locate well at the bottom of the zone. His primary secondary pitch is a low-mid 90s splitter, which has some late drop but doesn’t have a huge break due to the speed he throws it at. He does a good job of keeping the pitch down, either in or below the zone, and hitters regularly swing over it when it dips out of the zone. Splitters are difficult pitches to command, which is a factor contributing to Sawamura’s high walk rates.
Sawamura figures to compete for high-leverage work alongside Matt Barnes, Adam Ottavino, and Ryan Brasier.
The Padres have one of the busiest offseasons in the majors. That continued on Monday, with San Diego inking veteran reliever Keone Kela to a one-year deal, per MLB Network’s Jon Heyman.
Kela, 28 in mid-April, did not rank among CBS Sports’ top 60 free agents in the majors entering the winter. The reasons for his exclusion were straightforward: he had been limited by COVID-19 and injury to just two innings in 2020, and had been involved in too many off-the-field incidents in 2019 to merit inclusion.
Nonetheless, Kela has been an effective reliever when he’s been hearty and hale. In 231 career big-league appearances, he’s posted a 139 ERA+ and a 3.20 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Kela’s arsenal has largely consisted of just two pitches: a mid-90s fastball and a swing-and-miss breaking ball.
Kela is the second veteran reliever the Padres have added in the past week, joining former Braves closer Mark Melancon.
The Rockies announced on Monday that they had signed veteran first baseman C.J. Cron to a minor-league pact.
Cron, 31, entered the winter ranked as the 43rd-best free agent available. Here’s what we wrote at the time;
Cron played in just 13 games before he required season-ending knee surgery. He’s still one of the top first basemen on the market, a statement that says more about the paucity of good options available than it does about him. Cron is a serviceable option, mind you, one who can deliver 20-plus homers and an OPS+ in the 100-110 range. Alas, “serviceable” first basemen tend to change uniforms frequently. Cron sure has, as he’s played with four teams the past four years. Expect that to become five in five soon enough, and then six in six, and then ….
Cron figures to compete with another recent signing, Greg Bird, for playing time at first base.
The Brewers made a potential addition to their bullpen on Sunday, signing former All-Star closer Brad Boxberger to a minor-league deal, per ESPN.
Boxberger, 33 in May, appeared in 23 games with the Marlins last season, accumulating a 151 ERA+ and a 2.25 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 18 innings. Time hasn’t been too kind to Boxberger since he made the 2015 All-Star Game: even including his success in 2020, he’s compiled a 4.27 ERA and more than five walks per nine in his last 151 innings.
The Brewers have a largely flexible bullpen, as only Ray Black lacks options. That said, Milwaukee is certain to carry Josh Hader, Devin Williams, Brent Suter, and Freddy Peralta if healthy. Boxberger might be competing, then, with Justin Topa and/or J.P. Feyereisen for a spot in the Opening Day ‘pen.
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Mets add Kevin Pillar in MLB free agency
The Mets made another upgrade to their outfield, agreeing to a one-year contract with free agent Kevin Pillar on Monday, The Post’s Mike Puma confirmed.
The exact terms of the deal were not immediately known.
The 32-year-old gives the Mets a third option in center, along with Brandon Nimmo and minor league signing Albert Almora Jr. He can also provide some flexibility in left field, where Dom Smith will likely start.
The righty-hitting Pillar has bounced around after seven seasons with the Blue Jays. He hit .308 with two home runs, 13 RBIs and an .801 OPS in 24 games to close 2020 with the Rockies. Pillar began last season with the Red Sox, for whom he hit .274 in 30 games.
The Mets, who missed out on prize free agent centerfielder George Springer, have been looking to improve their outfield this offseason. While Pillar has played mostly in center, he is not the same player he was earlier in his career. But he could also serve as a defensive replacement for Smith in left. He also could start versus lefties, against whom he has a .298/.332/.538 slash line over the past two years.