Buffalo shooting trial descends into chaos as man rushes gunman Payton Gendron in court

An impassioned victim impact statement from the sister of one of the victims of the Buffalo supermarket shooting was interrupted when an unknown person lunged at the teenage shooter, prompting disruption in the courtroom.

“You killed my sister,” Barbara Mapps told Payton Gendron, 19, at the latter’s sentencing at Erie County Court Wednesday morning.

Massey’s sister, Katherine Massey 72, was one of the 10 people killed during Gendron’s racism-fueled rampage at Tops Friendly Markets on May 14, 2022.

Most of the victims, including Massey, were black. Gendron pleaded guilty last fall to several murder and hate-motivated terror charges, and is expected to be sentenced Wednesday to life in prison.

“Kat would do anything for anyone at any time,” Mapps told Gendron, her voice loud but trembling with emotion.

Addressing the killer from behind a podium, Mapps frequently gestured toward Gendron as she raised her voice.

“I want personally to choke you, to see my fingerprints on your neck,” Mapps told Gendron, repeating the vow she made to The Post in the aftermath of the shooting last year.

Mapps’ statement was subsequently interrupted, however, when an unnamed man wearing a light gray sweatsuit rushed past her toward Gendron, presumably to attack him.

The courtroom then erupted into chaos, as family members and other witnesses got up from their seats and Gendron was immediately escorted from the room by guards.

After police subdued the would-be attacker, an unidentified woman could be heard yelling that Gendron was a “f-ing coward.”

“I understand the anger…but we cannot have that in the courtroom,” the judge counseled the room before Gendron was returned several minutes later.

When order was restored, several other grieving family members shared their impact statements as the court prepared for Gendron’s formal sentencing.