By Jenna Zucker

BUFFALO (Reuters) – The Tops Friendly Market, which was chosen by the white gunman for his racist attack on Saturday, served as an anchor type for the Black community of Buffalo’s Jefferson Avenue. It was one of few grocery stores where people could get groceries.

Many Black Buffaloans feel unsafe even though this small sanctuary is no longer safe. The City of Good Neighbors takes pride of its status as “The City of Good Neighbors.”

Payton Gendron aged 18, dressed in body armor and camouflage, drove into the supermarket parking lots in broad daylight. From there, he opened fire and killed 10 others. One-third of the victims, eleven in all, were Black.

    “Somebody knew enough to know the one store our community has,” said Denise Glenn, an activist from VOICE Buffalo, speaking to the clutch of about 100 people who gathered on Sunday morning outside Tops, which had been cordoned off by police tape and adorned with flowers and makeshift memorials.

Glenn made reference to the shocking news that the gunman drove for hours to attack the store from his house. He had chosen the location because it was home to a large number of Black residents.

On Sunday, Reverend Darius Pridgen, True Bethel Baptist Church’s pulpit, said, “That was an Evil, Racist, White Supremacist.” He literally searched for the zip code with the greatest concentration of African Americans.

About five minutes from Tops was the church that is predominantly Black. It hosted worshippers, some relatives of victims, and others who were there when the rampage took place.

Rev. Pridgen asked members of congregation affected by the shootings to bring their stories to Pridgen. They came forward one by one.

Charles Everhart Sr. 65 told his worshipers about Zaire Goodman (a Tops 20-year old employee) who was shot in his neck. But he somehow survived. Everhart stated that he saw Zaire Goodman pushing carts back towards the store, and was among the first to be hit.

The vigil was held outside of the supermarket. It brought out anger, stunned disbelief and feelings of helplessness as well as grief. People sang “Amazing Grace.” Many were moved to tears.

SO MUCH TRAUMA?’

The employees of the shop huddled together to offer comfort and support one another. Volunteers prepared food for the employees and gave out water. Dutzendes of officers were seen milling about, while the blocks surrounding them remained closed off. This added to a feeling of fear and disorientation.

Tyrell Ford, 36-year-old, is the lead community organizer at Voices Buffalo. He said that he’s still working through the events.

He stated, “There are so many traumas in the Black Community and now is the time for us to grieve.” It causes mental health problems, trust issues and other difficulties in our community. It is evident how lively our community can be.

According to law enforcement, the calculated nature of the attack may have increased the feeling of siege mentality among some residents.

The killer appeared to have created a document online, which appears to contain a checklist for the attack. This list included buying tactical equipment as well as testing the upload speed for livestreaming.

Gendron reportedly wrote a manifesto of 180 pages outlining “The Great Replacement Theory” – a racist conspiracy theory that states whites are being replaced in America by minorities. This manifesto was also distributed online.

Julie Harwell (33) was one of many people who ended up in an unfortunate situation on Saturday afternoon. Julie went to Tops shopping for birthday supplies along with her daughter and her father. After that, the gunshots began.

Harwell explained that he thought the shooting was normal and common in his neighborhood. “So we just ran,” Harwell claimed. “Once it stopped, I was told by something to stand up and run. “He was shooting two people to ensure they were dead.

“I saw a lot of stuff I’d never seen,” she said, “and that I thought my daughter would never see.”