Senator Kevin Parker's Statement On The Shooting In Buffalo, New York

State Senator Kevin Parker released the following statement in response to the shooting in Buffalo, New York:

"My heart goes out to the families of the victims and the larger Buffalo community impacted by the domestic terror attack on Saturday, May 14th.  At this moment it is important that we understand that the attack did not take the lives of people who simply wanted to buy groceries on a Saturday afternoon. It was a planned attack on Black Lives, a large concentration of Black Lives on a Saturday afternoon. To say this horrific attack is an act of white supremacy and in the same breath acknowledge the victims as simply shoppers is deceitful at best. This type of rhetoric dehumanizes, devalues, and diminishes the experience of Black people in this country since its beginnings. I stand in solidarity with all Black New Yorkers who continue to endure acts of hate that continue to shape the contours of our lives to this very day."