(NewsNation) — An elderly woman caring for her aging husband, a retired police officer who still served the public as a security guard, and a devoted sister who was helping her brother recover following a bone marrow transplant are among the 10 victims who lost their lives in Saturday’s mass shooting at a Tops supermarket in Buffalo, New York.
NewsNation’s Buffalo affiliate WIVB has been collecting information about the victims of the attack, offering a look into the lives of those who lost thier lives. Here’s what we know about them:
Celestine Chaney
Chaney, was a 65-year-old breast cancer survivor. Her only son, Wayne Jones, accompanied her during twice monthly shopping trips.
“No matter what’s going on with your parents you might be arguing or fighting,” Jones told WVIB, “Just take the time. You never know when they’re going to be gone.”
Roberta A. Drury
Drury was just 32. Most recently, she was helping her brother recover after a bone marrow transplant. Her funeral has been scheduled to be held in Syracuse.
Andre mackneil
Mackneil, a resident of Auburn, New York, was 53. He was on the way to pick up a birthday cake for his grandson, according to the New York Post.
Katherine massey
Buffalo resident Massey, 72, was a frequent letter writer to local newspapers. In a 2021 letter she wrote to The Buffalo News, she advocated for greater federal regulation of guns.
Margus D. Morrison
Morrison, 52, was a Buffalo resident and father of three. He worked as a bus aide for local schools, USA Today reports.
Heyward patterson
Patterson, 67, served as a deacon at State Tabernacle Church of God.
“Loved God. Loved his family. Loved serving the community,” Leonard Lane, the president of Buffalo F.A.T.H.E.R.S. told WIVB. “He did it every chance he could get.”
Aaron salter
Salter, 55, was a retired Buffalo police officer who worked as a security guard at Tops. When a gunman started the attack, authorities said Salter jumped into action and shot at him multiple times, though the attacker’s vest protected him.
Kimberly Beaty, a friend of Salter’s who worked with him at the Buffalo Police Department, described him as a hero.
“He engaged a suspect and he slowed down a horror that was happening at Tops, and he saved a lot of lives,” Beaty said. “He’s a hero. He was a hero when he put the uniform on and he died.”
Geraldine Talley
Talley, 62, was a Buffalo resident. She was out shopping with her fiancé.
“She’s sweet, sweet, you know, the life of the party,” her niece Lakesha Chapman told CNN. “She was the person who always put our family reunion together, she was an avid baker…mother of two beautiful children.”
Ruth whitfield
Whitfield, who at 86 was the oldest of the victims, was the mother of former Buffalo Fire Commissioner Garnell Whitfield. She was on her way back from visiting her husband at a nearby nursing home when she stopped at the market.
Pearl young
Young, 77, was a member of the local Good Samaritan Church Of God In Christ for more than five decades.
“She was just a family person,” fellow church member James Pennington told WVIB. “It was impossible to have a bad day around her.”