Tops employees recount horror of Buffalo shooting as some remain determined to reopen for community

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Fragrance Harris Stanfield, a customer service lead at Tops Friendly Markets in Buffalo, had just finished ringing up a customer Saturday when she heard gunshots outside the store.

Within seconds the front sliding doors opened and the gunfire moved inside as the store’s security guard pulled out his weapon and returned fire. Harris Stanfield tried to grab her daughter, cashier supervisor Yahnia Brown-McReynolds, but she lost her grip. Thinking her daughter was following her, she dashed toward the back of the store to escape.

Brown-McReynolds, the new mother of a 7-week-old girl, instead ducked behind her register. She stayed crouched with her eyes closed until the gunfire stopped, she said in an interview Tuesday.

The shooting, which left 10 people dead three others wounded, has shaken the tight-knit group of employees. But some, like cashier Ashley Marks, are determined to return to work so they can continue to serve a community that fought hard to get its own grocery store.

The gunman was dressed in tactical gear when he opened fire in the store’s parking lot around 2:30 p.m. Saturday, fatally shooting three people and wounding an employee, before he entered the store and continued his rampage. 

Among those killed was security guard Aaron Salter Jr., who has been hailed a hero for trying to stop the gunman. The wounded include employee Zaire Goodman, who was shot in the neck helping an older customer load groceries in her car.

Police said the suspect, who is from Conklin, New York, drove hours to Buffalo to carry out his attack. He was arrested at the scene without incident and arraigned on first-degree murder charges Saturday evening. He pleaded not guilty.

A document posted to Google Docs on Thursday night said he chose Buffalo because the city has the most Black residents and it was in his vicinity. Attorney General Merrick…