Tuesday 17 May 2022 07:01 AM Buffalo shooter spared manager's life and said 'sorry' after realizing he's ... trends now
A stunned supermarket manager has told how 'white supremacist' gunman Payton Gendron lowered his weapon and apologized instead of opening fire – when the suspect realized he was white.
Dad-of-two Christopher Braden, 55, raced to the front of the Tops Friendly grocery store when evil Gendron started spraying bullets at black shoppers in Buffalo Saturday afternoon, killing ten.
Braden was hit in the leg and tried to crawl between two registers to hide, but the 18-year-old shooter marched towards him and took aim with his semi-automatic rifle.
Now his close friend and neighbor has talked to us about the horrifying moment when Braden stared death in the face. He is still in the hospital recovering from his wounds.
Footage recorded on Gendron's livestreaming camera captures Braden's horrifying scream of 'no' as he covers his face and prepares to die – only for the gunman to casually say 'sorry' and back away.
DailyMail.com has decided not to show that footage or stills from it.
Tops Friendly supermarket manager Christopher Braden, 55 (left) was shot in the leg but spared from death by alleged white supremacist gunman Payton Gendron (right) who opened fire at the store in Buffalo, New York Saturday
The gunman opened fire around 2.30pm on Saturday while livestreaming the shooting. Several witnesses saw him carry out the 10 killings
Buffalo shooter Payton Gendron is pictured at his arraignment hearing Saturday night, where he appeared barefoot and in a paper outfit
'The guy could have literally shot him dead – but he didn't,' Braden's friend Sue Trala told DailyMail.com.
'Christopher is trying to put on a brave face and make light of it but he's probably going to have survivor's guilt for the rest of his life – just because he's white.'
Braden is currently in the hospital with a shattered tibia and it's expected he will get a visit from Joe Biden Tuesday when the president travels to Buffalo to meet families of victims and survivors.
'He's coherent but he's had major surgery on his left leg and he's going to have at least two more surgeries,' Sue explained.
'The bullet went in and came out, leaving a pretty big hole. They think it was a hollow point.
'From what he's said, he heard the shots and ran up to the front of the store. He saw the guard getting shot right in front of him but he didn't even realize he had been hit in the leg.
'It was only when he was laying on the ground between the registers that he realized he had been shot. He looks up and sees the shooter pointing his gun at him but then he just says sorry.
'It's because he was white – there is literally no other explanation. The kid knew what he was doing, he was well trained, but he took the decision not to shoot. I blame all those stupid war games they play.'
Braden lives in a suburb of Buffalo, 20 minutes from the scene of the massacre. An assistant manager for the New York grocery chain, he transferred from another location to the Jefferson Avenue store just a couple weeks ago, Trala said.
'He has two boys, he's a great neighbor. We have a glass of wine, we snow blow each other's homes in the winter. It could not have happened to a nicer guy,' she added.
Gendron has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder following Saturday's attack. He is being held without bail and faces life in prison.
Braden is currently in the hospital with a shattered tibia and is expected to get a visit from Joe Biden Tuesday when the president travels to meet survivors
Due back in court Thursday, the teen is currently
