BUFFALO, NY (WKBW) — The Tops Market on Jefferson Avenue, where ten people were murdered and three wounded in the May 14 mass shooting, is more than just a supermarket for some residents.
Many also rely on the store to get their prescriptions filled.
“All my scripts were already there. It was almost like my doctor — had a relationship with that Tops pharmacy,” explained Krystle Babbs.
Krystle Babbs found it very convenient to cross the street in her wheelchair from her Jefferson Avenue apartment building to the Tops Market.
She tells me it is more than just a supermarket for her. Babbs is on six prescription drugs each day, one is a maintenance medication for her Multiple Sclerosis.
“And me, being disabled, I need people I can trust — as many as possible and that was one of the people I could trust,” remarked Babbs.
Babbs says it was a quick, five-minute trip across the street, where she could pick up her meds, and food, cash her checks and pay bills. But she also would be greeted by Jefferson Top's security guard Aaron Salter, one of the ten victims murdered in the May 14Th mass shooting.
She says the employees and pharmacist showed compassion for her disability.
“Not only the pharmacy, but the pharmacist were also people I felt comfortable talking about my disabilities with. The people that were there, in general, made my disability more manageable,” reflected Babbs. "I cashed my checks there. I did so much there. I paid my bills there."
Tops me all prescriptions from the Jefferson Avenue store were automatically transferred to the tops on Elmwood avenue until the store reopens.
But when I met with Babbs she had no idea and was on hold with her health care manager trying to get help because she was out of her meds.
“How important is that for your life of what you rely on?” Buckley asked. “It’s very important and I am out,” responded Babbs.
Babbs says the shuttle bus currently taking customers to the tops on Elmwood is not wheelchair accessible, so she's unable to use it.
But Tops says they are providing free delivery to homes if needed by calling 716-515-0050.
