BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Four years after the Buffalo mass shooting, May 14 serves as a day of remembrance, healing and service across the city.
It was May 14, 2022, when a self-proclaimed white supremacist came to our community with a plan to do immense harm.
Today, and every day, we remember the lives lost.
- Celestine Chaney, 65
- Roberta Drury, 32
- Andre Mackniel, 53
- Katherine Massey, 72
- Margus Morrison, 52
- Rev. Heyward Patterson, 67
- Aaron Salter, 55
- Geraldine Talley, 62
- Ruth Whitfield, 86
- Pearl Young, 77
BUFFALO MARKS FOUR YEARS SINCE MASS SHOOTING WITH REMEMBRANCE CEREMONY
Community leaders, families, and residents gathered in Buffalo on Thursday to honor the 10 lives lost in the mass shooting at the Tops Market on Jefferson Avenue four years ago.
Speakers at the remembrance ceremony reflected on the pain, resilience, and unity that have shaped the community in the years since the racially motivated attack.
"I don't need to remind you that on May 14 a shadow fell over our beloved city…a shadow cast by pure evil — evil that was intentional," Governor Kathy Hochul said.
"We can't cure the racism that lived in the heart of the shooter, or others like him in our society, but we can look hate in the face and say there's no home for that in our City of Buffalo," Mayor Sean Ryan said.
While leaders praised the strength of the community, some residents said they are still deeply affected by the tragedy. Mario Lane said he has not returned to the Tops plaza since the shooting.
"Once this tragedy happened, I never stepped foot in the plaza, or I haven't even been in the store since it happened…so it really hit home personally," Lane said.
Attorney General Letitia James also spoke to affirm commitments to healing, investment, and justice.
The ceremony concluded with prayers, calls for unity, and a renewed promise to never forget the victims whose lives were taken.
Gov. Hochul also announced she will commit another $3 million to help build a planned future memorial near the site.
VOLUNTEERS HONOR MASS SHOOTING VICTIMS WITH DAY OF SERVICE
600 volunteers spread across Buffalo's East Side on Thursday, taking part in 12 service events honoring the lives lost in the Buffalo mass shooting.
The day of service brought together community members, union workers, university students, and city employees for meaningful tributes tied to the victims they remembered.
At the HighPointe Nursing Facility on Michigan Avenue, volunteers made bouquets of fresh flowers with patients — a tribute to Ruth Whitfield, who loved to garden and visited her husband at the facility every day.
"We wanted something where we were actually gonna interact with and connect with the community, not just sort of do it behind the scenes," Stephanie Tisdale said.
Volunteer Trina Burruss helped patients pick their favorite flowers.
"Whenever we can come out and be with community, it's a good day," Burruss said.
On Fox Street, volunteers from the carpenters union, the University at Buffalo, and the City of Buffalo's Real Estate Department renovated a wheelchair ramp and repaired a deck at a residential home. The work was part of what organizers called a "good neighbor fix-up."
"Sand it down a little bit, get some of the paint off of it, and then we add new life to it with new paint," volunteer Chad Williams said.
According to Williams, the motivation was simple.
"I wanna help out folks in need. That's who I am and that's what I wanna do," Williams said.
On Jefferson Avenue, volunteers gardened and cared for a park in tribute to Kat Massey, a longtime Highmark BlueCross BlueShield employee who loved to garden.
"Kat liked gardening and we have people out here gardening and taking care of the park and we couldn't be happier to uphold their memory in that way," Emry Moore said.