By Joshua
Eaton
The 18-year-old suspected of attacking and fatally shooting 10 black people in Buffalo, New York, wrote in what is believed to be his online journals that he learned how to illegally modify his rifle by watching YouTube videos.
The suspect appeared to link to videos in Discord chat logs, and the videos were still available on YouTube as of Thursday night, five days after the shooting.
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Some of the videos appear to violate YouTube's community guidelines, which prohibit videos showing how to install weapon accessories, such as high-capacity magazines.
The advocacy group Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund is asking YouTube to strengthen how it enforces its gun policies in response to magazines and videos.
"Tech platforms like YouTube have a responsibility to users and the general public to ensure that posts do not incite violence or promote extremist content," the group wrote Thursday night in a letter to YouTube.
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The letter was also sent to the New York attorney general, who has announced an investigation into the role that tech platforms may have played in the shooting.
The letter does not specifically mention YouTube.
In December, an investigation by our sister network NBC News uncovered dozens of YouTube videos with step-by-step instructions on how to make
untraceable
ghost weapons at home, despite company policy prohibiting such videos.
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In February, five Democratic senators sent a letter calling on YouTube to better enforce its gun policies.
"The policies are there, but they're not enforcing them," said Justin Wagner, director of research for Everytown.
“They are running videos that show how to modify a weapon so that it fires faster and does more damage.
They are not difficult to find: anyone can put terms in the search bar and find them”.
YouTube did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the videos.
Makeshift memorial outside Tops Market on May 16, 2022 in Buffalo, New York. Scott Olson/Getty Images
The main suspect in the shooting, Payton S. Gendron, of Conklin, New York, appeared to have kept a detailed journal of his plans for the attack on the Discord chat platform under the username Jimboboiii, the same name he is accused of using. have used to live stream the deadly shooting on another platform, Twitch.
Law enforcement has confirmed that the suspect maintained and used accounts on Twitch, Discord, and Steam.
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On January 11, the Discord account posted a link to a YouTube video showing how to install a magazine lock, which makes an AR-15-style rifle legal in New York without the need for special registration. , by locking the charger in place to prevent rapid recharging.
At two minutes, the video explains how to remove the magazine lock with a specific drill bit.
It appears that the user referred to the video to remove the mag lock from his own weapon.
“The same fixed magazine release on vintage firearms says you have to drill it out,” the user believed to be the suspect wrote below the link.
“Speed up the bit in the hole and it will come right out.”
Eight days later, on January 19, the user wrote in the chat logs about purchasing a Bushmaster XM-15.
One of the images accompanying the post shows the rifle, with a red magazine safety, next to a drill and the same bits mentioned in the YouTube video.
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In the next photo, the charger has been removed.
And in the next one, the rifle is equipped with a removable extended magazine capable of holding more than 10 rounds of ammunition at a time, which is illegal in New York state.
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The user appears to have posted at least one other video showing how to remove the state-mandated loader lock.
Another video she linked to describes how to install a magazine release to quickly reload a rifle.
The gunman in Saturday's shooting at Tops Friendly Market reloaded at least once, according to authorities.
One of the suspect's last Discord posts before the attack shows what appear to be three high-capacity chargers in his driver's side door pocket.
The suspect linked to 13 YouTube videos related to weapons, body armor or shooting tactics, according to NBC News' review of his Discord account.
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Many of the videos fit neatly into the YouTube guidelines.
For example, one of the videos - which does not seem to violate YouTube's policies - shows how to shoot through the safety glass of the car.
It has over a million views.
“Top's glass is most likely not safety glass so it should behave like a front windshield would I believe,” the suspect wrote under the link.
"The bullet will penetrate with some deformation but it will still have enough energy to penetrate meat and such."
Live broadcast of the attack and photos from the scene show that several rounds were fired into the store through the front windows.
Discord has communicated that it is doing everything it can to help law enforcement.
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The suspect appeared in court on Wednesday.
A prosecutor indicated that a grand jury had returned an indictment, although it was not immediately clear what the charge was and how many charges were listed in the complaint.
The suspect was ordered to remain in jail without bail.