Family and Friends of Buffalo Shooting Victim Launch Scholarship Fund in His Honor

 

On May 14, 2022, Payton Gendron, then 18 years old, entered Tops Friendly Markets in Buffalo when Aaron Salter Jr., a retired police officer, was working as a security guard there. Salter apparently rushed into the building at the time of the horrific incident to warn others about the shooter.

Salter also approached Gendron and fired at him, but Gendron was protected by an armored vest, thus the bullets missed him. Salter was killed when Grendon retaliated with fire. One of the 11 individuals Gendron is accused of killing was the dead security guard.

After the incident, authorities in Buffalo claimed that the dead security guard’s actions after Gendron started shooting probably prevented additional people from dying.

One year after the tragic incident, Salter’s family and friends made the announcement that they had started a scholarship fund in memory of the dead Black man. Ten Buffalo-area high school seniors attending college will get financial aid from the fund, which is known as the Lt. Aaron Salter Memorial Scholarship, according to NBC News. For assistance in covering their college costs, each student will get $5,000.

Salter’s longtime friend and former colleague, Earl Perrin Jr., set up the scholarship in the wake of his death. Perrin said his deceased friend “gave his life trying to save others.” “Because of his heroism, and because we knew what kind of person he was, we felt it would only be just to find a way to memorialize him — come up with some way to keep his legacy going,“ Perrin added.

According to Perrin, the scholarship committee originally planned to gather $1,000 for the program, but after receiving sizeable donations, the sum was raised to $5,000 per student. One of the donors is a nearby car dealership, which has agreed to donate $25,000 over the course of four years.

According to NBC News, recipients of the scholarship must exhibit the traits that Salter did. The dead Black man was reportedly tech adept and active in his neighborhood. The organization plans to offer local kids mentorship opportunities, mental health care, and financial literacy programs in addition to financial aid.

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