Suspect allowed his plans to be viewed before attack

Shortly before he opened fire, the white gunman accused of killing 10 Black people at a Buffalo, N.Y., supermarket allowed a small group of people to see his plans for the attack, which he had been chronicling for months in an online diary.

Discord, the chat platform where 18-year-old Payton Gendron kept the diary, confirmed Wednesday that an invitation to access his private writings was sent to the group about a half-hour before Saturday’s attack at Tops Friendly Market, which he livestreamed on another online service. Some of them accepted.

Gendron’s diary and its racist, antisemitic entries dated to last November included step-by-step descriptions of his assault plans, a detailed account of a reconnaissance trip he made to Buffalo in March, and maps of the store that he drew by hand.

It wasn’t clear if any of the people who accessed Gendron’s diary or saw his livestream did anything to alert the authorities or attempt to stop the attack. Discord said it removed Gendron’s diary as soon as it was aware of it.