Tammy Estwick
Buffalo still healing 1 year after Tops grocery store shooting
One year later, the Buffalo community is reflecting on the emotional and socioeconomic remedies needed to heal after the Tops grocery store shooting.
LEARN MOREPosted: 5:50 p.m. EDT May 12, 2023
As the one-year anniversary of the mass shooting at a Buffalo grocery store approaches — which also falls on Mother's Day — Mark Talley is reminded of his mom.
Talley's mom, 62-year-old Geraldine Talley, was one of the 10 people killed by an 18-year-old with an assault rifle at Tops Friendly Markets on Jefferson Avenue in Buffalo, New York.
His mom was a former administrative assistant and an avid baker.
"When I occasionally got her to laugh at something she shouldn't have been laughing at, that was always a joyful time for me," Talley said.
His mom was inside the store when the gunman started shooting.
"I still have a lot of anger — anger, rage that I probably won't be able to leave," Talley said.
Now, Talley uses his grief to help others. He started a non-profit called Agents for Advocacy, which pushes for socioeconomic equality and provides resources in low-income communities.
He also wrote a book called "5/14: The Day the Devil Came to Buffalo" to help funnel his anger after the May 14, 2022, shooting.
The gunman live-streamed the shooting. Talley, anxious to see his mom one more time, watched it moments before she was shot.
"I sat on the couch in a semi-permanent state of shock," Talley read from his new book. "A part of me desperately needed to see my mom alive one more time. I didn't have any videos of her to remind me of how she laughed when she saw something funny."
Six months after the horrific shooting at Tops, management decided to close the store to honor the victims. The store will also be closed on Sunday so people can take time to mourn the victims.
The 19-year-old gunman was convicted and sentenced to life in prison without parole after admitting he used a legally obtained AR-15 to shoot people because they were Black.
"Him getting a death penalty or a life sentence is really not justice because you can't bring those people back," barber shop owner Craig Elston told Scripps News.
Talley is taking solace in the murderer being imprisoned for life.
"I'm very content with it because I know for a fact that he won't be able to serve that full sentence," Talley said.
