BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Local, state and national organizations are coming together in the wake of Saturday's mass shooting at Tops Market in Buffalo to help the families of the victims.
During a press conference held by local and state law enforcement and government officials Sunday afternoon, Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown and Governor Kathy Hochul outlined a number of resources that are being made available for funeral expenses, grief counseling and help getting groceries.
Mayor Brown announced West Herr Auto Group is pledging $300,000 to provide grief counseling and other services to the victims' families; he said the local start-up, Zephyr, and Cross Country Mortgage are both pledging $50,000 to assist with funeral expenses for the families of the 10 people killed in the attack.
Brown said that assistance is only being made available to the victims' families and can be accessed by calling his office at (716) 851-4841.
Governor Hochul announced help at the state and national level would be coming to help the community. During Sunday afternoon's press conference, Hochul said her office had been contacted by Reverend Al Sharpton of the National Action Network, who wanted to fully cover the cost of all of the funerals for the victims' families.
Hochul also announced she has identified $2.8 million in funding that she would like the state's Office of Victims Services to allocate directly to the victims' families. And she said because the Tops location on Jefferson Avenue would be closed until further notice as police investigate the scene, her office has contacted Uber and Lyft to coordinate ridesharing for neighbors who would be forced to travel to other grocery stores to purchase food.
