Sunday 22 May 2022 06:16 PM Scammers try to steal $40,000 from GoFundMe for Buffalo shooting hero security ... trends now

Scammers have tried to steal $40,000 from a GoFundMe set up to help the family of a Buffalo security guard who died trying to take down an active shooter.

Aaron Salter Jr., 55, was working as a security guard at the Tops Friendly Markets store in Buffalo, New York on May 14 when a gunman walked into the store with an assault rifle.

He immediately sprang into action - and pulled out his own weapon, firing multiple times at the gunman - who was later identified as 18-year-old Payton Gendron - but his bullets were unable to pierce Gendron's armored plating, and Gendron was able to return fire - killing Salter.

In the aftermath, his son, Aaron Salter III created a GoFundMe to help the family financially, writing last Monday: 'Please donate in this tragic time to help the family with this unforeseen tragedy.'

But as the GoFundMe surpassed $40,000 in donations this week, TMZ reports, it was targeted by a scammer who tried to steal Aaron Salter III's personal information and bank account numbers.

He told the outlet that he was combing through messages on the page, when he saw one from a user claiming they wanted to donate $4,000.

When he clicked on the message, though, Salter III said his personal information was sent to someone in Mississippi.

Fortunately, he said he was able to get in touch with someone at the fundraising website - and they got the account back in his family's hands.

A spokesperson later confirmed to TMZ that they responded to a phishing attempt against the Salter family and were able to secure the account.

The funds - which have now topped $45,000 - are now being delivered once again to the family. 

Salter Jr. was hailed as a hero following the mass shooting at the Buffalo supermarket where 10 black people were killed at the hands of an apparent white supremacist.

He had previously worked as a Buffalo Police Department officer for 30 years - joining after he graduated from high school.

During his time in the force, he helped put out a kitchen fire and was able to catch the arsonist as he tried to escape in 1992.  

Four years later, Salter and his partner responded to a burglary  in progress when they were confronted by a 25-year-old man, who approached them from behind and pointed a loaded 12-gauge shotgun at them.

Salter's partner quickly responded, shooting at the assailant, but missing.

Still, Salter said, those quick reflexes likely saved his life.

'My first reaction was to duck,' he told the Buffalo News at the time. 'I don't enjoy looking down the barrel of a shotgun, and if it hadn't been for my partner shooting first, it would have been a golden opportunity to shoot us.

'My partner probably saved us.' 

Salter, a father of three, later retired from the Buffalo Police Department, and decided to take a job at the supermarket where his late mother, Carol, worked a s a cashier for 15 years before serving as a front-end manager until her retirement in 1986, according to the Daily Beast.

She and her late husband, Aaron Salter Sr., then opened a dry cleaners, which they ran until it closed in 1998. 

Outside of his police and security work, Salter was said to be interested in green energy and had set up his own company.

'I'm always working on my vehicles and or my project of running engines on water for the last four years or so,' he wrote on LinkedIn. 'I would like to realize my dream of getting cars to run off of water using my newly discovered energy source some day.'

By 2015, he shared a video on Facebook of his hydrogen-electrolysis powered Ford F150 pickup truck, which he said could be started with gasoline and then switched over to run on water.

'The guys used to laugh at me,' he said in an interview that same year as he described a solar array he once installed at his home.

He was said to be a big fan of the ABC show Shark Tank, and after seeing pictures of him posing with posters advertising one of the sharks, Daymond John, the shark decided to help the Salter family pay for the funeral expenses.   

Salter's family now remembers him as a hero, with his son, Aaron Salter III telling the Daily Beast: 'Today is a shock.

'I'm pretty sure he saved some lives today. He's a hero.'

Johnny Juliano, who claims to be one of his cousins, also posted a tribute to the late police officer, describing him as 'a true hero who risked his life trying to defend those helpless during a racist attack/ mass shooting . 

'Retired BPD who was loved by all you [truly] will be missed and remembered for your heroic gesture,' he wrote. 

That proved to be true as Buffalo Police Chief Joseph Gramaglia described Salter as 'a beloved security guard' and 'a hero in our eyes.'

And just a few days later, President Joe Biden paid tribute to the fallen security guard as he honored 15 public safety officers, including two officers who died in the line of duty, during a ceremony in the East Room last Monday.

'He gave his life when a gunman shot and killed 10 innocent people in a grocery store in Buffalo on Saturday. He was actually able to shoot the assailant twice but he had on a bulletproof vest. He lost his life in the process,' Biden said at the Medal of Valor event at the White House.

The Medal of Valor is awarded to public safety officers who have exhibited exceptional courage, regardless of personal safety, in the attempt to save or protect others from harm. 

'No one understands more than all of you here today the pain and anguish all the families in Buffalo feel,' Biden said. 

'You are part of a special community because fire fighters and police officers will always be there for you,' he said. 'I want to say a special thanks to you all for being here because I know it's hard.'

Several of the other victims of Saturday's brutal shooting were just everyday residents doing their shopping, including Ruth Whitfield, an 86-year-old grandmother, who is also the mother of former Buffalo fire commissioner Garnell Whitfield, was killed while shopping for groceries.

She had just visited her husband in a nursing home and decided to stop at the Tops on her way home to get something to eat, WGRZ reported.

Geraldine Talley, 62, had also stopped by the grocery store to pick up food for dinner, People reports and had asked her fiancée to go to another aisle to retrieve something off one of the shelves when the gunfire started.

The two were soon separated, and Talley died in the gunfire.

She is a mother of two children - Genicia Talley, 42, and Mark Talley, 32, and was also like a second mother to her niece, Kesha Chapman.

Talley is now remembered for her mouth-watering cheesecake, People reports.

'She was truly an amazing woman, and I'm going to miss her dearly,' Chapman-Johnson said told ABC News. 

Katherine Massey, 72, was also at the supermarket on Saturday to do her grocery shopping when she was fatally shot. Her brother was supposed to pick her up after she finished her errands.

Massey was a civil rights and education advocate. Former Erie County Legislator Betty Jean Grant, who had known Massey for over 20 years, told The Buffalo News that she 'did everything she could to lift up Buffalo's black community.'

Last year, Massey wrote a letter calling for more federal regulation of firearms, citing both urban street violence and mass shootings.

Pearly Young, 77, who fed needy residents in Buffalo's Central Park neighborhood for 25 years, was another victim who was shot and killed during the massacre, 11Alive reporter Madison Carter tweeted.

Young, originally of Alabama, moved to New York as a young adult and married a pastor.

She had gone to lunch with her sister-in-law on Saturday and was dropped off at the grocer afterwards. Her son was expected to pick her up, but when he arrived at the store, the scene was in total chaos.

Her relatives told Alabama.com Young will be remembered for her love for God

read more from dailymail.....