Fayetteville council members express sympathy for Buffalo shooting victims

A group prays at the site of a memorial for the victims of the Buffalo supermarket shooting outside the Tops Friendly Market on Saturday, May 21, 2022, in Buffalo, N.Y. Tops was encouraging people to join its stores in a moment of silence to honor the shooting victims Saturday at 2:30 p.m., the approximate time of the attack a week earlier. Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown also called for 123 seconds of silence from 2:28 p.m. to 2:31 p.m., followed by the ringing of church bells 13 times throughout the city to honor the 10 people killed and three wounded.

AP photo: Joshua Bessex

FAYETTEVILLE — The recent mass shooting in Buffalo, New York prompted a response from the Fayetteville City Council.

Council members on Tuesday unanimously approved a resolution expressing sympathy for the victims who were shot and killed by a white 18-year-old who officials said targeted a Black neighborhood with the intent of killing as many Black people as possible.

The resolution lists the names of the 10 people who were killed, including Pearl Young, 77; Ruth Whitfield, 86; Andre Mackneil, 53; Heyward Patterson, 67; Roberta Drury, 32; Geraldine Talley, 62; Katherine Massey, 72; Celestine Chaney, 65; and Margus Morrison, 52.

The idea was brought forward by Ward 1 Council Member D’Andre Jones, who said he plans to present the resolution to the Race, Equity and Leadership Council of the National League of Cities, and to Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown.

From Jones’ memo requesting the resolution:

The City of Fayetteville joins the National League of Cities and takes the moment to reflect on those whose lives were lost in Buffalo this weekend. Our hurt heart goes out to the victims’ families, and we send our thoughts and prayers to Mayor Byron Brown as he works to help heal his city. This weekend’s horrific violence was the latest in a series of mass shootings that have deliberately targeted people based on their race, sexuality and religion.

Council member Sloan Scroggin thanked Jones for sponsoring the resolution

“It’s important that we call out evil where we see evil,” said Scroggin.