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Kevin Riford
Numerous years later and still no answers. According to the 2022 Buffalo News Article authorities were investigating the May 14, 2022, mass shooting at a Tops Friendly Markets in Buffalo, New York, to determine whether a retired federal law-enforcement agent had advance knowledge of the attack carried out by 18-year-old Payton Gendron. The massacre, which targeted Black shoppers in what prosecutors later described as a racially motivated hate crime, left ten people dead and three others wounded.
According to reporting by The Buffalo News, investigators received information suggesting that a retired agent was among a small group of individuals who communicated with Gendron online prior to the attack. Sources said that these individuals, roughly half a dozen in number, may have received as much as 30 minutes’ notice before Gendron began his rampage.
The online communications reportedly took place in a private chatroom where Gendron shared extremist views steeped in white supremacist ideology. Investigators have not publicly disclosed whether the retired agent engaged with Gendron directly or merely observed the exchanges. What troubled authorities was the possibility that the agent—or others in the group—knew of Gendron’s plans but did not alert law enforcement.
As of the time of reporting, no charges had been filed against the retired federal employee. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Buffalo declined to comment, while the FBI’s Buffalo field office did not immediately respond to inquiries. Federal investigators were said to be tracking down and interviewing those who had access to Gendron’s writings and livestream in the lead-up to the shooting.
The allegation that a former government official may have been aware of the massacre before it happened sparked deep unease among law-enforcement professionals. Critics pointed out that even thirty minutes of warning could have been enough to save lives had authorities been alerted. Others cautioned that investigators had not yet confirmed whether such advance knowledge existed.
Gendron later pleaded guilty to state charges of murder and domestic terrorism motivated by hate, and in 2023 was sentenced to life in prison without parole.
As of September 2025, the question of what the retired agent knew—and whether he failed to act—remains part of the lingering shadows surrounding one of Buffalo’s darkest days.
Questions That Remain
- Why hasn’t The Buffalo News pushed further to uncover more about this alleged ex-federal agent’s role?
- Why doesn’t the reporting explain how the paper learned an ex-federal agent was in Gendron’s private chatroom?
- Was the retired agent simply a private citizen, or was he still operating as a contractor with ties to federal agencies?
- If investigators believed he had advance knowledge, why has his identity never been publicly disclosed?
- Could Payton Gendron have been influenced—or even groomed—by this ex-federal agent?
- And if that possibility exists, why has it not been addressed in greater depth by reporters or officials?
With that, I leave you with this link: https://theintercept.com/2024/01/10/fbi-sting-isis-autistic-teen/ and this one https://theintercept.com/2023/06/15/fbi-undercover-isis-teenager-terrorist/ which are two separate stories. Thanks for reading!
