lashing out over sweden joining finland in seeking nato membership. the kremlin is now threatening to retaliate. and there s a significant new development impacting the nationwide shortage of infant formula. a deal has just been reached to reopen a plant that was shut down because of a recall. how soon will desperately needed nourishment for america s babies are back on store shelves? we want to welcome our viewers here in the united states and around the world. i m wolf blitzer, you re in the situation room . we begin with new evidence that the buffalo shooting suspect was plotting a racially motivated slaughter for months. visiting the city back in march, and potentially looking to attack a second store. cnn s brian todd is on the scene for us, following all the new developments tonight. this was a straight-up hate crime, pure evil. reporter: tonight, police revealing details about the meticulous planning that went into the massacre of ten people in a buffalo store
the assailant twice, he had on a bullet proof vest and he lost his life in the process. no one understands more than all of you here today the pain and anguish those families in buffalo feel. when it happens, at least in my experience, it feels like you re pulled into a black hole inside your chest, and everything everything. you can t. it s hard. but you know you are part of a special community, because the firefighters and police officers will always be there for you. i know it s a small consolation, but they will always be there for you. and your family and children and grandchildren and the whole family. to talk about law enforcement being a family, and firefighters being a family, it s a real. just like being a military family, it s unbreakable. there is a headstone in a cemetery in ireland that reads, death leaves a heartache no one can heal. love leaves a memory that no one can steal. families of the fallen, no one can ever steal the memory of your loved one. i hop
toward securing a conviction for the individual. our detectives, agents, deputies, everybody standing before you, will work this tirelessly for as long as it needs to go, and it s done by a person, again, who does not live in our community who brought this kind of hate to our very close knit buffalo community. we will not tolerate this. we will stand tall against it and rebound against it and show how strong we are and all the members of our police department, the fbi, the state police will continue to fight hate on a daily basis. police say not only was the suspected gunman heavily arm but also wore tactical gear as he live streamed the shooting before surrendering. one witness described what he saw. it took the police about two minutes. a minute and thirty-seconds, actually. that was pretty much it. it took them about two minutes. they got here and they stood and watched him. i thought they were going to shoot him, but they didn t shoot him, but yeah. like i said, he go
pete: begin with a fox news alert. 10 people are dead what authorities are calling a hate crime at a new york supermarket. carley: officers taking the gunman after reign of terror inside of a buffalo store. reporter: this tragedy happening at a tops grocery store in buffalo, new york. it was during a busy afternoon of shopping. authorities are investigate the attack as racially motivated taking place predominantly black neighborhood. he shot a woman, he shot a deek son. he shot another woman then he went into the store started shooting again. i don t know who he was shooting at because he shot at least eight people. reporter: a retired buffalo police officer aaron salter was hailed as a hero. he was working as a security guard and armed. he was gunned down after the his bullet failed to pierce the tactical gear. a mother after fire commissioner was killed in the attack. the mayor says the city is devastated by the losses. this is the worst nightmare that any community
the assault a racially motivated act of white supremacy, describing the suspect as a hate filled soul. we re learning tonight about the victims. 32 to 86 years old including the beloved security guard, a retired police lieutenant working security at the store, confronting the gunman, shooting him, but the gunman had body armor and police say the suspect then killed that guard. stephanie ramos on the scene tonight. inside the moments of terror we re now hearing from some of the survivors who were inside the grocery store when the gunshots began. they could hear the shots getting closer. one mother telling me she was shopping with a family member. she ran to find a back exit, he ran to a meat freezer where he hid. our interview right here tonight. the hate crime investigation now under way tonight, sources telling abc news racial slurs and the names of previous mass shooters were written on his gun. and his prior history with police. accused of threatening behavior before a