The victims and survivors of 2022’s racist mass shooting at Tops have an active role in the mind of Buffalo to this day, and now lawmakers are taking steps to increase preventative legislation.
The Aaron Salter, Jr. Responsible Body Armor Possession Act would prevent civilians from owning military-grade body armor, like the type used by the Tops shooter, though lesser forms of body protection would be allowed, U.S. Congressman Tim Kennedy said.
Salter was the retired police officer who was working security at Tops on the day of the shooting in 2022 and was killed trying to defend shoppers from gunman Payton Gendron.
The legislation would provide legal ramifications to deter future shootings, said Ebony White, whose uncle, Heyward Patterson, was killed during the shooting.
“The idea that you could be hunted at home, that was something that stayed with me from the very beginning. They were hunted at home," she said. "They were watched, they were observed, they were monitored well before the act actually occurred. So, we want to be able to defend ourselves at home.”
It’s important for survivors and those involved to see community leaders leading by example, said Buffalo Common Council Member Zeneta Everhart, whose son, Zaire Goodman, suffered injuries during the shooting.
“Survivors need to see that their elected leaders are doing something in the face of these things, and so I'm just grateful to always stand with you for this," she said. "And please everyone, just remember the families in a couple days. You know, they're going through it. They're really, really going through it.”
The act will be introduced Wednesday, on the shooting’s three-year anniversary, Kennedy said. A similar bill restricting the ownership of body armor was introduced a few years ago but was not successful.
Kennedy is still searching for co-sponsors for his bill, whether means Democrat or Republican politicians, Kennedy said.
