The Tops Friendly Markets community in Buffalo, N.Y., and beyond are grieving and figuring out the next steps to take after a gunman with a white supremacist ideology opened fire May 14, at the supermarket.
The gunman killed 10 people and injured three more, almost all of them Black, according to the New York Times. A store security guard shot the perpetrator in the chest, but he was wearing chest armor, and the guard was shot and killed.
“The Tops family is heartbroken over the senseless violence of this past weekend that has impacted our associates and customers of the Tops store on Jefferson Avenue, and our entire community,” Tops President John Persons said in a statement.
The store has been serving the community for about 60 years and is closed until further notice. Without this store, the neighborhood is a food desert — without access to adequate fresh produce and other essential foods — so the company is providing free bus shuttle service from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily from Jefferson Avenue and Riley Street to the nearby Tops location on Elmwood Avenue, according to the statement.
Within three days, Tops partnered with the National Compassion Fund to create the Buffalo 5/14 Survivors Fund to provide direct financial assistance to the survivors of the deceased and those directly affected by this tragedy. Tops has seeded this Survivors Fund with $500,000 to get it started, according to a news release.
“What happened was ruthless and heartbreaking,” Persons said in the release. “Those that lost their lives will forever be in our hearts and will never be forgotten. Tops is committed to supporting those families affected and to help the community grieve and heal from this tragic event. We have been overwhelmed by the outpouring of support and we thank everyone for their incredible kindness.”
One hundred percent of the contributions donated to the Survivors Fund will go directly to families of those deceased as well as those injured, and those who were present in the store and experienced psychological trauma.
Qualifying charitable donations to this fund are tax deductible. To make an online contribution, visit Fundraiser by National Compassion Fund : Buffalo Survivors Fund (gofundme.com) or to write a check or for funds electronic transfer information, visit Buffalo 5/14 Survivors Fund - National Compassion Fund.
Also, Tops is forming a local steering committee of community and business leaders to establish the eligibility and distribution policies for the fund. More details are to come. The fund will be managed and operated by the National Compassion Fund.
“Our hearts go out to the entire Buffalo community,” Fund Executive Director Jeffrey Dion said in the release. “We are honored to join forces with Tops Friendly Markets, the Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo, and VictimsFirst to increase charitable giving and help meet the overwhelming needs of the survivors of this atrocity. We stand in solidarity with all those impacted by gun violence.”
All who wish to sign up for updates on the progress of the fund and plans for distribution are asked to complete the contact form on the Compassion Fund website.
Persons’ full statement, posted May 16 on LinkedIn, is below.
