The extra security is 'out of an abundance of caution,' an NYPD spokesman told Newsweek on Saturday.
Police in New York City are deploying extra forces to Black houses of worship out of precaution after a deadly mass shooting Saturday in Buffalo, New York, on a weekend where the nation saw exchanges of gunfire that also sent crowds running in Milwaukee and Los Angeles.
In Buffalo, the shooting at the Tops Friends Market grocery store unfolded as a suspect wearing military-style clothing and body armor shot at least 10 people dead around 2:30 p.m., the Associated Press reported. Evidence suggests race may have been a motivating factor in that attack, Erie County District Attorney John Flynn said during a press conference. He confirmed 11 of the 13 people shot were Black and said the suspect allegedly targeted Buffalo for its high Black population, driving hours from his home in an undisclosed county of New York.
"While we assess there is no threat to New York City stemming from this incident, out of an abundance of caution, we have shifted counterterrorism and patrol resources to give special attention to a number of locations and areas including major houses of worship in communities of color." The Buffalo suspect, identified as Payton Gendron, 18, by Buffalo City Court Chief Judge Craig Hannah, has been charged with first-degree murder, according toissued a statement on the mass shooting Saturday night, calling it a"hate crime."