BUFFALO — President Joe Biden and the first lady are expected to visit Buffalo on Tuesday.
Their visit comes three days after police say a white gunman went on a racially motivated shooting spree, killing 10 Black people and injuring three others at a grocery store.
“What we want to do is make sure that we send a very clear message that hate must have no safe harbor,” said White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.
A White House official tells CBS News the president will call the shooter’s actions “terrorism” motivated by a hateful and perverse ideology. He will also urge Congress to pass new gun control legislation.
On Monday, Biden paid tribute to Aaron Salter, a 55-year-old retired police lieutenant who worked as a security guard at Tops supermarket.
“He was actually able to shoot the assailant twice, but he had on a bullet proof vest, and he lost his life in the process,” Biden said.
Sources tell CBS News the 18-year-old suspect wrote a lengthy online post where he described himself as a white supremacist, and that he planned to continue his attacks at other locations in the city.
He pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder over the weekend, and is now under suicide watch in jail.