Supermarket shooting suspect didn't belong in Buffalo 0:23
(CNN) --
Former classmates of the Buffalo shooting suspect said that while he could be lonely and "weird" at times, he was not known for being violent.
"I can't believe he did something like that," Nicholas Albrechta, who graduated from Susquehanna Valley High last year, told CNN.
"I never heard of him thinking such a thing."
Albrechta described the suspect, Payton S. Gendron, as "calm" and said he was a good partner for class projects.
She said the suspect could be a bit talkative at times, but some days he was reserved.
The former classmate said he hadn't seen the suspect since his graduation last year.
ANALYSIS |
The Buffalo massacre further shakes a country insecure by violence
Another former classmate, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the situation, recalled the suspect as a "lonely loner" who was interested in guns and video games, although that was not unusual among his classmates.
"I didn't hear anything bad about him, not once," said another former classmate, Bryce Gibbs, who said he attended Gendron from elementary through high school and described him as "nice."
"I just don't understand what convinced him to do this," he said.
Another classmate described the suspect as "a bit of a weird kid, but I never thought he would do something so crazy."
The news shocked others who frequent his family.
Her parents weren't known for extreme views, according to two New Yorkers who worked with their parents at the state Department of Transportation and who shared their views on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation.
advertising
"I've never thought of the family as racist or hateful," said one of her co-workers, who said she was heartbroken for the families of the victims, as well as the suspect's parents, Pam and Paul.
"I can't understand this tragedy."
Five hate-motivated massacres, just like the one in Buffalo, authorities say
Another co-worker described the suspect's father as "a lovely guy. Smart, he works hard for the state as an engineer for DOT."
"He is a very liberal person, very similar to me, and what I have heard about his son, are not his beliefs," said the co-worker.
BuffaloShooting
