Remembering the victims of the mass shooting in Buffalo

After 10 people were killed last weekend in a mass shooting in Buffalo, we take a moment to reflect on their lives and the legacies they leave behind.

Read the Full Transcript

Notice: Transcripts are machine and human generated and lightly edited for accuracy. They may contain errors.

  • Judy Woodruff:

    Finally tonight, we return to Buffalo.

    Ten people lost their lives there this weekend. We wanted to take a moment to reflect on how they lived their lives and the legacies they leave.

    Katherine Massey was known for her advocacy. Last year, when a family member of a state lawmaker was fatally shot, the 72-year-old wrote a letter to The Buffalo News calling for stricter gun control measures. A friend told reporters she would fight for anybody, without a doubt.

    Fifty-five-year old Aaron Salter was a Buffalo police officer for three decades. After retiring in 2018, he took up work as a security guard at Tops Friendly Market. Salter fired back at the shooter, and is credited with saving lives.

    President Biden spoke yesterday about Salter's heroism:

  • President Joe Biden:

    We pay tribute to all law enforcement officers and their families who understand what it takes, what's at risk to save and protect all of us. And that includes paying tribute to the Buffalo police officer Aaron Salter.

  • Judy Woodruff:

    Celestine Chaney, a 65-year-old grandmother of six, went to Tops supermarket to buy strawberries. Her sister JoAnn went with her, but survived.

    JoAnn Daniels, Sister of Shooting Victim: My sister survived breast cancer and three aneurysm surgeries to go to the grocery store to get killed.

  • Judy Woodruff:

    Andre Mackniel, who was 53, was at Tops to buy a birthday cake for his 3-year-old son. His fiancee wrote on Facebook following the shooting: "Today, my baby was born, but, today, my soul mate was taken. How do I tell my son his daddy's not coming home? How do I as a mother make it OK? Someone, please tell me, because I really don't know."

    Margus Morrison recently worked as a bus aide for the Buffalo Public Schools and loved being around kids. The father and husband went to Tops to buy snacks for a family movie night. His younger brother Frederick told reporters: "It hurts me so much right now because I wasn't expecting to lose him."

    Margus was 52.

    Eighty-six-year-old Ruth Whitfield stopped at Tops supermarket after visiting her husband at his nursing home. Her son, a former Buffalo fire commissioner, remembering his mother:

    Garnell Whitfield Jr., Son of Shooting Victim: We're devastated. We're devastated. We're a very close family. We're a very, very close family. And my mother was the glue that held us all together.

  • Judy Woodruff:

    Geraldine Talley, 62, was a regular shopper at Tops and an avid baker. Her younger sister Kaye told reporters: "We had so many plans together, so many plans, and everything has just been stripped away from us."

    Heyward Patterson went to Tops supermarket daily, offering rides to people for less money than ride-sharing services in the area. He was shot while helping someone load groceries into the trunk of a car. He was 67.

    Thirty-two-year-old Roberta Drury went to Tops to buy groceries for dinner. Her sister Amanda described Roberta as vibrant and someone who made the whole room smile and laugh.

    And Pearl Young, 77, was a proud grandmother of eight who volunteered for years every Saturday at a food pantry run by her church. She had been working this spring as a high school substitute teacher.

    Pearl's niece, Jacqueline, reflected on her aunt's legacy:

    Jacqueline Wright, Niece of Shooting Victim: She was a pearl. She was a gem. She was a precious jewel. And she — it reflected her name.

  • Judy Woodruff:

    And our hearts go out to everyone who lost a loved one in that terrible shooting. We think it's so important not just to remember how they died, but how they lived their lives.

Listen to this Segment