As a crazed killer began his massacre Saturday at a Buffalo-area supermarket, one man ran forward as everyone else ran away.
On Saturday, a gunman identified as Payton Gendron, 18, shot 13 people, killing 10, in a swift rampage.
Retired Buffalo police officer Aaron Salter Jr. was working security for the Buffalo, New York, store, and fired at the shooter.
It was no use. The gunman was wearing body armor. Unharmed by Salter’s multiple shots, he fired back, killing the former cop, according to WKBW-TV in Buffalo.
Buffalo Police Department Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia called Salter “beloved,” and “a hero in our eyes.”
The security guard who attempted to stop a mass shooter in Buffalo is Aaron Salter
Aaron Salter attempted to stop the shooter by firing at the shooter, Payton Gendron. However, Gendron was wearing body armor and was not harmed by the shot. Gendron returned fire, killing Salter pic.twitter.com/LjdnXNhz5w
— The Circle (@TheCirc92826597) May 15, 2022
Aaron Salter Jr, the security guard who shot the Buffalo mass shooter, was killed when the mass shooter, who was wearing a bulletproof vest, returned fire. pic.twitter.com/O2oXeniYJn
— Beams (@wxandnews) May 15, 2022
According to Salter’s LinkedIn bio, he was a police officer for 27 years.
“Today is a shock,” Aaron Salter III, the slain officer’s son, told The Daily Beast.
“I’m pretty sure he saved some lives today. He’s a hero.”
Salter was the father of three, and had joined the Buffalo police straight from high school.
“I had the pleasure of knowing him, great guy, well respected, well-liked. This is just horrific. It’s tragic. I don’t know what other words to describe it,” Buffalo Police Benevolent Association President John Evans said, according to WIVB-TV in Buffalo.
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Adam Bennefield, a cousin of the slain hero, said the tragedy has shocked the family, according to The Daily Beast.
“I don’t think anybody could ever anticipate something like this happening,” Bennefield, said. “I don’t think anybody can. Everybody’s hurt right now, everybody’s upset.”
Shonnell Harris, an operation manager at the store where the shooting took place, noted that people were packed together, according to The Buffalo News.
“It’s the weekend, so it was packed,” she said.
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She estimated she heard 70 shots.
The accused gunman was arrested at the scene, according to The Buffalo News. He was arraigned Saturday night on a first-degree murder charge, the newspaper reported.
In 1996, The slain hero had another brush with death.
“My first reaction was to duck,” he told The Buffalo News after a burglary suspect pointed a 12-gauge shotgun in his face. “I don’t enjoy looking down the barrel of a shotgun, and if it hadn’t been for my partner shooting first, it would have been a golden opportunity to shoot us. My partner probably saved us.”
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.