BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Will Paul and Pamela Gendron be held criminally responsible for their son's actions on May 14, 2022? The answer is no. But when it comes to civil lawsuits, that may be a different story.
After the racist shooter pleaded guilty in court on Monday, his parents released a statement saying, "Our hearts are broken over the devastation he caused to the innocent victims he killed and wounded, their families, and the African-American community in Buffalo and beyond."
But his parents have been part of the investigation from the beginning. Court documents detail how the shooter was gifted hunting rifles by his father. Documents also show their son has had a history of racial outbursts and violence against animals in their home.
The shooter, in his 180 page manifesto, described how he used a "Cobalt Speedout #2 drillbit and my dad's power drill to take out the magazine lock" when he modified the Bushmaster XM-15 he says he was going to use in the attack.
The I-Team's Ed Drantch asked Erie County District Attorney John Flynn, if Gendron's parents would face any kind of legal liability.
DRANTCH: [Gendron] spoke with his parents at length about pleading guilty here. We also heard that he modified that gun in his parents house. Where does the legal accountability for his parents fall at this point?
FLYNN: There is no criminal culpability against anyone, but him. Now, again, civil liability and civil procedure is [another] matter. But as far as criminally, he is the only person who's responsible for these criminal actions.
Flynn went on to say, "...when you do something wrong, you look in the mirror and that person in the mirror is the one who's responsible for this carnage and he is responsible for this, in my opinion, he alone."
Shortly after the shooting, Zaire Goodman, one of the three people hurt in the mass shooting, and his mother filed a petition in court, against the Gendrons.
The pre-action disclosure was meant to preserve evidence for a potential future lawsuit.
Gendron is due to be sentenced on the state charges, February 15, 2023.
