Photo: Getty Images
A Tops assistant manager who called emergency services during the fatal Buffalo shooting says the 911 operator that answered had an attitude and ultimately hung up in her face.
On Saturday (May 14), Payton Gendron, the suspected shooter, killed 10 Black New Yorkers in a "racially-motivated hate crime" at Tops supermarket. The assistant manager, Latisha, says she dialed 911 after the gunman opened fire, but the dispatcher who picked up yelled at her and ended the call.
When asked to describe the fatal scene, Latisha told WRGZ, "I didn't really see much at all. I just heard the gunshots and just dropped down to the ground and just waited for him to stop and he just wouldn't stop."
The assistant manager said she whispered while speaking with 911 services because she could hear the gunman nearby.
"When I whispered on the phone to 911, the dispatcher would start yelling at me saying 'Why are you whispering? You don't have to whisper.' and I'm trying to tell her ma'am he's in the store, he's shooting, it's an active shooter, I'm scared for my life," Latisha said describing the call.
The Buffalo woman revealed she had to ask her significant other to call authorities after being met with an attitude on the other side of the line.
"She said something crazy to me, and she hung up in my face. I had to call my boyfriend to tell him to call 911," Latisha said.
Buffalo residents are mourning the attack on their close-knit community. Officials say Gendron had plans to continue targeting Black people in the area if he had escaped Tops supermarket.
Watch the video of Latisha's interview here.
Reading about Black trauma can have an impact on your mental health. If you or someone you know need immediate mental health help, text "STRENGTH" to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor.
Get the latest news 24/7 on The Black Information Network. Listen now on the iHeartRadio app or click HERE to tune in live.