Tag: buffalo mass shooting

Bills coaches, players show up as a team to help Buffalo heal after mass shooting

The Bills arrived at Buffalo’s Jefferson Avenue on Wednesday to help the community heal after last Saturday’s racist mass shooting.

On Wednesday, several Buffalo Bills coaches and players — including head coach Sean McDermott, quarterback Josh Allen, and receiver Stefon Diggs — showed up at Buffalo’s Jefferson Avenue to serve food to members of the community and show support in the wake of last Saturday’s racist mass shooting in which 10 people were killed, and three more were injured.

The shooting happened at the Tops supermarket in a part of the city more populated by Black citizens. Gunman Payton Gendron, 18 posted a racist manifesto online before opening fire at a Tops Supermarkets in Buffalo. The FBI is investigating the shooting as a hate crime, as Gendron traveled 230 miles from his hometown to a predominantly Black neighborhood. Gendron’s vitriol was based primarily on the racist theory that white people are being replaced by people of color — a disgusting and ridiculous trope frequently echoed by people in high places like Fox News’ Tucker Carlson and New York Rep. Elise Stefanik, the No. 3 House Republican.

Gendron stated in his document that his goals were to “kill as many Blacks as possible,” “avoid dying,” and “spread ideals.”

The Bills were more interested in spreading ideals of love, recovery, and togetherness.

In addition, the The Buffalo Bills Foundation and NFL Foundation have combined to donate $400,000 to Buffalo’s East Side community heal in the wake of Saturday’s targeted attack against the Black community.

A combined $200,0000 will go to the Buffalo Together Community Response Fund. This new fund is a collaborative philanthropic effort across the region that will address the immediate and long-term needs in our community, including systemic issues that have marginalized communities of color.

“On behalf of the Buffalo Together Community Response Fund, we are most grateful for the generous contributions from the Buffalo Bills Foundation and the National Football League Foundation that will allow us to create real change and emerge from the darkness of this heinous act,” said Clotilde Perez-Bode Dedecker, President and CEO of the Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo. “This Fund is a partnership to build upon the collective desire to take action and to work together as a community to address immediate needs, long-term rebuilding and systemic issues that continue to marginalize communities of color.”

The other $200,000 will be donated directly from the Buffalo Bills Foundation to various nonprofits working on the emergency response efforts to address the immediate needs of Buffalo’s East Side residents. As an example of one of these efforts, we have partnered with Buffalo Go Green, African Heritage Food Co-op, the Resource Council of WNY, and UB Food Lab to arrange home food deliveries to those unable to come to a food distribution site.

Bills players speak out about racist mass shooting in Buffalo

Buffalo Bills players Josh Allen and Micah Hyde spoke out about Satuday’s racist mass shooting in Buffalo.

On Sunday, several Buffalo Bills players took part in safety Micah Hyde’s charity softball game at Sahlen Field, home of the AAA Buffalo Bisons minor-league baseball team. Quarterback Josh Allen appeared to be the star of the show.

Sadly, the game was played (and nearly cancelled) in the wake of the Saturday mass shooting that left 10 dead and three injured. Hyde said that he didn’t feel right about the game going on at first, but after talking to others involved in the event, he decided to go ahead with it.

“We felt it was important to get the community out, get some smiles on their face [and] get the players in front of them,” Hyde said. “”We’re going to spread love today for the youth and Western New York, but on top of that, the families that unfortunately had to go through that event yesterday.”

Hyde also announced that portions of the proceeds from the game would go to the families of the stricken.

Gunman Payton Gendron, 18 posted a racist manifesto online before opening fire at a Tops Supermarkets in Buffalo. The FBI is investigating the shooting as a hate crime, as Gendron traveled 230 miles from his hometown to a predominantly Black neighborhood. Gendron’s vitriol was based primarily on the racist theory that white people are being replaced by people of color — a disgusting and ridiculous trope frequently echoed by people in high places like Fox News’ Tucker Carlson and New York Rep. Elise Stefanik, the No. 3 House Republican.

Gendron stated in his document that his goals were to “kill as many Blacks as possible,” “avoid dying,” and “spread ideals.”

“It’s hard to wrap my head around it,” Allen said of the shooting. “The heartbreak, this weird feeling that I have, and my heart goes out to the victims and their families. We really haven’t talked as a team yet — we’ll be in the building tomorrow, and I’m sure we’ll talk about it, [and] fire out a way to help the families out.

“It’s something that… you never think it’s going to happen in your community. And when it does, when it hits home… I was sick to my stomach all day yesterday. I was flying back from my sister’s graduation, and… it’s gut-wrenching. It really is. We’ll talk as a team tomorrow and figure out what we want to do. There’s no doubt that we want to do something.”