Women Watch Afrika Condemns the Senseless Shooting and Targeting of Black People and Black Business in Buffalo, NY

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 15, 2022

Women Watch Afrika Condemns the senseless targeting and shooting of innocent Black People and Black business that took place in Buffalo, NY on May 14, 2022.  This was a heinous act of violence.

During the attack, 13 individuals were shot, 10 of whom have died from their injuries.  Of the thirteen shot, eleven of the individuals have been identified as Black. The suspect is described a white man from Conklin, New York, who stormed a supermarket in an African-American Buffalo neighborhood and open-fired both outside and inside the store, killing ten people and wounding three others.  He intentionally traveled to that area to target the Black people of that neighborhood.  The suspect of these murders has been taken into custody and charged with first degree murder, for which he has pleaded not guilty.

Women Watch Afrika Founder and CEO, Glory Kilanko issued the following statement:

“Women Watch Afrika condemns this senseless shooting and targeting of innocent Black people and Black business.  We send condolences to the families who lost their loved ones, to those whose families were injured, and to the Black community as a whole.  WWA asks for justice for the victims.  It is very obvious that this violence was racially motivated. We must all speak out and call on Elected officials to speak up against the hate and violence directed at the Black community.”

“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny.  Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.” -Martin Luther King, Jr.

This heinous act affects us all.  We cannot be silent.  An injustice to one is an injustice to all.