Police mentioned that the shooter had been infiltrating the store just a day before the attack in a press meeting.
Tara Lynch of WIVB-TV interviewed a man who was allegedly in contact with the shooter while he was capping the store. Grady Lewis is the man. Lewis stated that the shooter was wearing a shirt that said “genius” and that he wanted to talk to him about it to find out if he was truly a genius.
Lewis stated that he felt like he was there. He also said that he reached out to him because he didn’t seem to be from his neighborhood. He described how they talked about String Theory, Critical Race Theory, and the beginning of civilization. This is amazing considering what the man was planning to do the next day.
According to the shooter, Lewis was called Payton and he was going camping. Lewis bought him something to drink and then sat down with him for an hour and 45 minutes.
Lewis said that he sits often in front of the market. However, he decided to not sit there on Saturday afternoon after hearing Aaron Salter, a security guard, say that people shouldn’t be left outside the store. He took his drink and walked across the street to the spot where the attacker began attacking the supermarket. Lewis claimed that he heard the gunshots and realized that they weren’t fireworks. Lewis said that he saw the shooter firing on people and then the security guard running into his store. The shooter then came out.
He placed the gun on his head and pressed it to his chin. He dropped the gun and then he got up on his knees to take off his bulletproof vest. Then, he put his hands behind his back.
He said that it took police less than two minutes for them to reach the scene.
“I heard seven to eight gun-smoke shots at first. I heard about 20 shots when he entered, but couldn’t tell the difference because I was screaming for help. He said that he was going to shoot. “… I still feel a little shaken up.
Lewis attributes Salter’s warning to people not to wait outside the store to save his life. He said that if he didn’t, he would be sitting on the same bench where he was the night before with the shooter. Lewis described the ending of the shooting, which saw the suspect hold the gun to his neck and then surrender to police. He was later found lying on the ground.
Lewis is fortunate to be alive twice.
