One year later: Gov. Hochul speaks out on the mass shooting that took 10 lives

BUFFALO, N.Y. – Sunday marked one year since a white supremacist gunned down 10 people inside a Tops supermarket in Buffalo.

Local church leaders and community members around the region gathered to remember those killed and injured. Hand in hand, a community – shaken to its core by an unspeakable act of violence one year ago – stood together.

Joining the congregation at Elim Christian Fellowship Church Sunday night, Gov. Kathy Hochul described a conversation she had with a customer in the aisle of the Tops supermarket where 10 people were slaughtered.

“He walked over. They started hugging instinctively, and sobs. In the sobs, I heard the words, ‘I miss my mom. I want my mom here,’” Hochul said.

On Mother’s Day, Hochul acknowledged open wounds and the families that will never be the same, while ultimately reminding everyone in attendance that while bullets may take lives, they’ll never take away the resolve of New Yorkers to live safe and free.

“The pain is still raw in Buffalo, N.Y., but how we take that pain and do something about it is how we are going to be judged. And, that’s what we are committed to doing. You didn’t defeat us on that day, you evil white supremacist. You made us stronger,” Hochul said.