BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Family members of victims and survivors of the Buffalo mass shooting are taking their search for justice to the courtroom.
Two new lawsuits have been filed in New York State Supreme Court this week. The first is on behalf of the family of Celestine Chaney, who was killed at Tops Friendly Market on Jefferson Avenue on May 14th, 2022. The other represents 16 employees and customers who were in the grocery store during the racially motivated attack.
Those impacted, and their lawyers gathered at One in Christ Temple on Broadway Street in Buffalo on Wednesday.
The new lawsuits, filed by Everytown Law, Bonner & Bonner and Ryder Law aim to impose accountability from the gun and body armor manufacturers, the store that sold the shooter his weapon, social media companies Youtube and Reddit, and Payton Gendron's parents.
The lawsuits also seek damages for those left in the wake of the racially motivated act of hate.
"No one wants to go through this type of thing," said Wayne Jones, whose mother Celestine Chaney was killed during the May 14th shooting. "The lawsuit is to stop the next family from feeling like we're feeling, and I have to deal with this every day, my family has to deal with this every day."
"I haven't been back to work," said Fragrance Harris Stanfield, an employee of Tops who was in the store during the attack. "Sometimes people ask me too, how was work? I said I haven't been back to work since May 14th, 2022, how do you think it is?"
The lawsuits also help to create a new legal precedent in New York State for survivors. There are now four lawsuits filed on behalf of family members and survivors of the Buffalo mass shooting tragedy.
