An Auburn resident is among those killed in a racially-motivated attack perpetrated by an 18-year-old gunman at a supermarket in Buffalo on Saturday.
Andre Mackniel, 53, was shot dead during the Saturday, May 14 attack. Ten people were killed and three were injured in the mass shooting described as a hate crime by federal investigators.
All of the 10 victims killed were Black, according to Erie County District Attorney John J. Flynn Jr.
The suspect, a white man from Broome County, allegedly drove several hours to the Tops Friendly Market on Jefferson Avenue in Buffalo to perpetrate his crimes. He has been identified as Payton Gendron, a Conklin resident who allegedly live-streamed his horrific attack on Twitch. The gunman’s 180-page manifesto posted online detailed his motivations for the attack. Federal investigators have taken charge of the case.
Related: Buffalo mass shooting: Gunman facing murder charges after killing 10, wounding others in racist attack at grocery store
Mackniel was a father, partner
The Auburn community is reeling from the loss of one of its own in Saturday’s racist attack.
Mackniel has family in Buffalo and was engaged to Auburn resident Tracey Lynn Maciulewicz, according to The Citizen. The pair had a son who just turned three years old this past weekend.
“Today is the best and worst day of my life. Today my baby was born but today my soul mate was taken. How do I tell my son his daddy’s not coming home ? How do I as a mother make it ok? Someone please tell me because I really dont know,” wrote Maciulewicz in a Facebook post on Saturday.
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