The mass shooting in New York two days ago has been dubbed a “hate crime” that was allegedly planned on Discord and streamed on Twitch.
The information in the following report may be upsetting to some readers.
The attack happened on Saturday in Buffalo New York when an 18-year-old known on Social media as “Jimboboiii” went on a killing spree at the Tops Friendly Market on Jefferson Avenue (which is a predominantly Black suburban area in western New York state).
Payton Gendron, the gunman, has been apprehended by police, who have described his actions as “racially motivated violent extremism,” and he has been charged with multiple counts of murder.
According to reports, the teenager opened fire at the supermarket while simultaneously livestreaming the attack on Twitch.
Gendron published a 180-page manifesto describing his racist and anti-Semitic sentiments, which he partly blamed on the popular online forum 4chan.
He said of the forum that “There I learned through infographics, shitposts, and memes that the White race is dying out, that blacks are disproportionately killing Whites, that the average black takes $700,000 from taxpayers in their lifetime, and that the Jews and the elite were behind this.”
In the document, he reportedly mentioned a private Discord Server where he detailed his plans in advance.
The attack took place at the market with Gendron first driving up to the parking lot and shooting four people killing three. He then went into the store and shot multiple which included a retired Buffalo Police officer that was working as the store’s security guard.
Braedyn Kephart and Shane Hill, witnesses, to the incident said they were just pulling into the parking lot when Gendron exited the Tops Friendly Market location.
Kephart described him as “standing there with the gun to his chin.” We were like what the heck is going on? Why does this kid have a gun to his face?” Gendron “ripped off his helmet, dropped his gun, and was tackled by the cops,” according to Kephart.
According to reports Payton Gendron hails from Conklin which is a town 200 miles SouthEast of Buffalo and during the attack he had “tactical gear” on which includes a tactical helmet, with a camera for livestreaming the entire event to Twitch.
Twitch quickly issued a statement stating:
“We are devastated to hear about the shooting that took place this afternoon in Buffalo, New York. Our hearts go out to the community impacted by this tragedy”.
They went on to say “Twitch has a zero-tolerance policy against violence of any kind and works swiftly to respond to all incidents. The user has been indefinitely suspended from our service and we are taking all appropriate action including monitoring for any accounts rebroadcasting this content.”
Though the video of the incident has been removed, screenshots and brief excerpts of the incident are still circulating. While jimboboiii’s Twitch channel has been deactivated, he may have a YouTube channel that hasn’t been updated in at least three years. He also has a Steam account for PC gaming.
Twitch concluded its statement by saying:
“We extend our deepest sympathies to the victims and their families and we will do everything we can to assist law enforcement in the investigation.”
Gendron also mentioned that he planned to first announce his ideas on 8chan, with a 4chan link allegedly linking back to the original 8chan post. The alleged gunman never posted on 8chan, according to an administrator who contacted Kotaku by email.
It is confirmed that 13 people in total were shot with ten of them being fatal, the current U.S. president Joe Biden has said that the attack was “abhorrent”. He said in a statement:
“A racially-motivated hate crime is abhorrent to the very fabric of this nation. We must do everything in our power to end hate-fuelled domestic terrorism.”
This incident has certainly horrified all parties involved and sent shockwaves across all social media platforms, and it is a sad day indeed when a social streaming site that is home to many streamers simply attempting to go about their business is utilized in such an evil manner.