Vox Sentences - The racist mass shooting in Buffalo

A racist attack in Buffalo kills 10 people; President Joe Biden will redeploy troops to Somalia.

Tonight's Sentences was written by Jariel Arvin.

A racist attack in Buffalo kills 10 people

Usman Khan/AFP via Getty Images

• On Saturday, an 18-year-old white man killed 10 people and injured three others at a grocery store in a predominately Black neighborhood in Buffalo, New York. [New York Times / Alexandra E. Petri]
• A 180-page statement believed to be written by the shooter, as well as racist slogans and symbols on his clothing and weapons, have led officials to believe “racial animosity” fueled the attack; 11 of the 13 people shot were Black. [Buffalo News / Lou Michel, Ben Tsujimoto, and Maki Becker]
• There were at least four other mass shootings last weekend, including one targeting a Taiwanese congregation that left one person dead and five injured. Officials believe the church shooting was a “politically motivated hate incident.” [LA Times / Hannah Fry, Richard Winton, Anh Do, and Luke Money]
• The alleged Buffalo shooter’s statement is full of hate speech, and centers on the false, racist “great replacement” theory — that elites are replacing white people with immigrants for political gain. [Washington Post / Isaac Stanley-Becker and Drew Harwell]
• The alleged suspect, in police custody, faces first-degree murder charges. The FBI is also investigating the attack as a hate crime and racially motivated violent extremism. [CBS News / Victoria Albert]

Biden will redeploy US troops to Somalia

• President Joe Biden will redeploy several hundred (reportedly less than 450) troops to Somalia to fight the al-Qaeda affiliate al-Shabab. [NYT / Charlie Savage and Eric Schmitt]
• Troops were stationed in the East African country before, but were pulled out in 2020 by President Donald Trump. Biden's move will reinvigorate oscillating US involvement in Somalia’s long war with the terrorist group. [CNN / Natasha Bertrand]
• Since the 2020 withdrawal, al-Shabab gained territory, which US officials worry could be used to launch external attacks. [Axios / Zachary Basu]
• In addition to the new troops, the US hopes former President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud — who was reelected Sunday — will help improve security conditions. [BBC / Mohamud Ali]

According to a new analysis conducted by the First Street Foundation, 1 in 6 Americans lives in areas at significant risk of wildfires. [Washington Post / John Muyskens, Andrew Ba Tran, Naema Ahmed, and Anna Phillips]

• On Monday, Shanghai announced it would begin lifting Covid-19 restrictions on May 21, after nearly six weeks of lockdowns that have stifled economic activity and upended daily life. [Reuters / Brenda Goh and Kevin Yao]
• McDonald’s said it would exit Russia over the invasion of Ukraine. [Politico / Victor Jack]
• Ukrainian forces fighting for the northeastern city of Kharkiv say troops reached the Russian border on Monday. [Business Insider / Bill Bostock]

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“It was straight up, a racially motivated hate crime. This person was pure evil.”

[Erie County Sheriff John Garcia on the mass shooting / Buffalo News]

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