Joe Biden condemns spreaders of white supremacist lies after Buffalo shooting

The mass shooting shook a nation that can sometimes seem numbed to atrocities and marked an alarming convergence of racist extremism, gun violence and the radicalizing effects of social media.

Authorities say Payton Gendron, 18, opened fire with a semi-automatic rifle on Saturday at the Tops Friendly Market in a predominantly Black neighborhood of Buffalo. He struck 13 people with gunfire, killing 10, and used a camera to livestream the rampage.

In recent years America has witnessed mass shootings driven by racist hatred in Charleston, El Paso, Pittsburgh, Atlanta and Dallas, Biden noted.

Earlier, Biden and his wife, Jill, laid a bouquet of white flowers at a makeshift memorial of blossoms, candles and messages of condolence set up under a tree outside the Tops supermarket.

After visiting the supermarket, the Bidens went behind closed doors at the Delavan Grider Community Center and met the families of the victims.

Yet the trip underlined how far Biden still has to go in stamping out a rise in white supremacist groups or improving gun safety. A record 45,222 people died from gun-related injuries in the US in 2020, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.