CNN
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biggest victim of Buffalo Supermarket Massacre There will be rest on Saturday.
86 years of family and friends Ruth E. Whitfield Buffalo church ready to hold both visitation and funeral services two weeks after police say A white supremacist killed Whitfield and nine others. Authorities say the gunman targeted the Topps Friendly Markets store because it was in a predominantly black neighborhood.
Vice President Kamala Harris and her husband, Doug Emhoff, Willing to participate in Whitfield’s services, According to the White House. The second family will also meet the families of other victims to express their condolences.
Whitfield had moved out of a nursing home near her husband—a daily routine for eight years—when she stopped at Tops for groceries, her son, Garnell Whitfield. Told CNN’s Omar Jimenez,
Garnell Whitfield said he tried calling his mother after hearing about the shooting, but could not be contacted. He left his house and then went upstairs where he found his car in the parking lot. Whitfield later learned that his mother was among the victims.
“Destruction, anger, hurt, disbelief, pain,” said Whitfield, describing her feelings that day. “She was the glue that held our family together.”
Whitfield said his family would not hesitate to disclose the suspect’s alleged motive.
“It’s white supremacy. It’s hate. It’s racism. It’s bigotry,” Whitfield said. It used to be. It’s not getting better.
Whitfield has survived by her husband of 68 years, Garnell W. Whitfield Sr., his children and several grandchildren. His services came after the funerals of other victims in the past week.
Among them were Celestine Chan, Roberta Drury, Andre McNeill, Katherine Massey, Margus Morrison and Hayward Patterson.
Chani was buried on Tuesday, and several family members spoke at her funeral. According to CNN affiliate WGRZ, Chani, 65, was a survivor of three aneurysms and breast cancer, which inspired people to wear pink in her honor.
Chaney’s granddaughter, Kayla Jones, said at the funeral, “She was a very calm, lovely person and I think people should learn to be like themselves.”
President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden visited the area in the first days after the shooting, calling it an act of domestic terrorism and condemning the suspected shooter’s racist ideology.