BUFFALO, N.Y. — Garnell Whitfield, son of Ruth Whitfield, the oldest person killed in the Tops mass shooting in Buffalo, New York last year has strong feelings and pointed words about hate and racism in America.
Three black people were killed by a white gunman who opened fire in a Jacksonville, Florida Dollar Store. A gunman who Florida police say had a manifesto that was like "a diary of a madman."
"He took a page out of Buffalo," Whitfield said. "A vulnerable population at a store, no different than Tops, in a place where people are under-resourced probably, no different than here. It's the same all across American cities, communities of color are under-resourced and targets for this kind of stuff."
In a statement, New York Governor Kathy Hochul said "Sadly, New Yorkers know this feeling all too well. Last year's massacre of ten Buffalo residents was disturbingly similar to this shooting in Jacksonville: a gunman motivated by racism, a weapon of war used to massacre innocent people, and a community torn apart."
Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown told reporters, "These continue to happen and enough is enough. It needs to come to an end."
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said, "Targeting people due to their race has no place in the state of Florida."
Whitfield was in Washington for the 60th anniversary of the March on Washington. He wore a sign with his mother's face and the words CONTINUING HER MARCH FOR JUSTICE! He said she would have been right there with him if she hadn't been gunned down.
Whitfield said he will continue to fight and bring issues of importance to the attention of those in power.