Shooting leaves neighborhood without a grocery

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Tops Friendly Market was more than a place to buy groceries. As the only supermarket for miles, it became a sort of community hub on Buffalo's East Side — where you chatted with

neighbors and caught up on people's lives.

"It's where we go to buy bread and stay for 15, 20 minutes because

if you just go in for a loaf of bread, you're going to find four or

five people you know, we're going to have a

couple of conversations before you leave,"

said Buffalo City Councilman Ulysees O. Wingo, who represents the struggling Black neighborhood, where he grew up. "You just feel good because this is your store."

Now residents are grieving the deaths of 10 Black people at the

hands of an 18-yearold white man who drove three hours to

carry out a racist, livestreamed shooting rampage in the crowded supermarket on Saturday.

They're also grappling with being targeted in a place that

has been so vital to the community. Before Tops opened on the East Side in 2003, residents had to travel to other communities to buy nutritious food

or settle for snacks and higher-priced staples like milk and eggs from corner stores and gas stations.

The fact that there are no other options lays bare the racial

and economic divide that existed in Buffalo long before the shooting. "People talked about the demographics, the

income levels, the crime and other factors," Buffalo Mayor

Byron Brown said. "I felt that the money

here was as green as the money anywhere, that there was a lot of

money to be spent in this community and there were needs to be served."

Wingo said it was no accident that the gunman chose the store to carry out the shooting.

"Knowing the density of African Americans on this side of the city and going to that Tops knowing that

this side of the city is a food desert was intentional, it was deliberate, and it was evil," Wingo said. "And we know that because he

did reconnaissance the day before to ensure that there were

Black folks there."

Tops said Wednesday its store remains

under active police investigation. Once that's

done, "we will have a team assess next steps with the intention of rebuilding and repairing the store for the community in as short a period of time as possible," it said.

In the meantime, Tops and others are working to make sure

residents don't go without.

A makeshift food bank was set up not far from the supermarket. The Buffalo Community Fridge received enough monetary donations that it will distribute some funds to other local

organizations. Tops also arranged for a bus to shuttle East

Side residents to and from another of its

Buffalo locations.