CONKLIN, N.Y. — Monday appeared to be a normal day in Conklin, New York, as people went about their day, but on the minds of many was the horrible massacre that occurred two days ago in Buffalo.
According to police, Payton Gendron, 18, from Conklin, shot and killed ten people inside a grocery store. Before he traveled to Buffalo, officials say he wrote a racist diatribe, laying out every step of his plan.
Gendron graduated from Susquehanna Valley High School in Conklin last year. We reached out to the school district about Gendron and his time as a student there. A spokesperson for the district says there was an incident with Gendron last year. In a statement, the district said Gendron made an ominous comment last June during virtual learning that drew some concern. School officials said there was no specific threat, and it was not tied to graduation.
The school district says it investigated what it could and passed it along to local law enforcement to look into further.
Many places in Conklin we visited had people who knew Gendron or his family. They said this tragedy hits close to home. One man we spoke with off-camera spent time with the family and said Gendron's father was a baseball coach. His heart breaks for Gendron's parents, who he said are wonderful people in the community.
Another man said Gendron worked for him for a couple of months, saying he was quiet and kept to himself but was a good worker.
In his writings, Gendron says he traveled to several locations to purchase weapons and gear for the crime, including a gun shop in Endicott, New York, roughly 30 minutes from his home.
People we spoke with say having this area connected with such a horrible event is unfortunate.
'I think we're all just trying to cope with it and wrap our heads around how someone could even do something like that. It's just a sad situation all around," said Endicott resident Anthony Pugh.
Another location Gendron listed in the manifesto is Pennsylvania Guns & Ammo in Great Bend. The gun shop is just a few miles from Gendron's home in Conklin.
People who live nearby were surprised to hear the shop mentioned in connection with a mass shooting and the conversations about gun laws that could spur because of it.
"It's kind of crazy. To drive that far to do something like that is just crazy. And I feel bad for the families, but it's just unreal," said Rich Flynn.
"If someone wants to hurt somebody, they're going to find a way to do it," said Dawn Koehler. "And people's rights to bear arms, you know, that gets all brought up again. So yeah, there's stuff like this; it's heartbreaking. It just brings out a lot."
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