After serving as a Buffalo police officer for 30 years, Aaron Salter Jr. spent the last four years working as a security guard at the Tops Friendly Markets store in Buffalo, NY.
That’s where he passed Saturday afternoon when a racist gunman walked in with a military-style assault rifle ready to kill.
Authorities said Salter acted like the cop he was—he pulled out his weapon and tried to take down the gunman, whom police have identified as 18-year-old Payton Gendron.
But Gendron was wearing body armor and Salter’s bullets couldn’t pierce it. Instead, police say the assailant returned fire and killed Salter—whose family was mourning a man city officials said was an undeniable “hero” on a horrific day.
His son, Salter, III, had taken to Facebook in 2019 to speak out against an attack similar to the one that claimed his father’s life, the outlet noted.
“If i hear another story of someone mass shooing innocent people or like yesterday the 20 year old in Missouri who when (sic) to Walmart with and assault rifle and 100 rounds and recorded himself making comments to people shopping I’m gonna loose (sic) my mind,” he wrote.
“We can’t even do everyday s–t without having to watch our backs and that’s scary af! The sad thing is I feel like a crazy close to home is gonna do something soon and I’m not ready for that.”
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