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Charles Gilbert was only a few blocks away from the Buffalo, New York, supermarket when a white 18-year-old opened fire and spread terror among the local Black community, killing 10 and injuring 13 on Saturday.

Like countless other Black Buffalo residents, Gilbert, a podcaster, said he is mired in pain, devastation and anger, but he and many in east Buffalo say they are also resolute to come together and forge a stronger community. 

“We’re hurt, but we’re not broken,” Gilbert said. “We, as a people and a community, will get past this. It will take some time. The spotlight is on us for the wrong reason, unfortunately. But we will show everyone that the community will come together.”

The alleged assailant, Payton Gendron, drove more than three hours in his parents’ car from Broome County, specifically to the Black neighborhood of Jefferson Avenue, to carry out a racist plot that is now the largest mass killing in the city’s history. Eleven of the 13 people shot were Black.

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