International- Authorities say a former federal agent may've known about plans for the attack in
Buffalo , New York. - Officials told The Buffalo
News the suspect invited the ex-fed to view the plans in a chatroom.
Law-enforcement officials are investigating whether a former federal agent knew about plans for the Buffalo, New York, shooting before it took place, The Buffalo News reported.
A gunman opened fire at Tops Friendly Markets on May 14, killing 10 people, in what the police consider a racially motivated attack. The shooting suspect was identified as an 18-year-old white man.
Authorities told The Buffalo News that the suspect corresponded with at least six people in an online chatroom before the attack, one of whom was the former agent.
Officials said the suspect invited members of the chatroom to read a plan about 30 minutes before the attack, according to The Buffalo News.
It's unclear what institution the former agent — who hasn't been identified — worked for or whether the person accepted the invitation to read about the plan.
"These were like-minded people who used this chat group to talk about their shared interests in racial hatred, replacement theory, and hatred of anyone who is Jewish, a person of color, or not of European ancestry," one official told The Buffalo News.
"What is especially upsetting is that these six people received advanced notice of the
The FBI is interviewing the members of the chat room, including the former agent, to establish whether any of them were accomplices, The Buffalo News reported.
The FBI received no tipoffs about the shooting, the outlet added.
The FBI declined to comment. The Buffalo Police Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Insider.
Officials said earlier this month that they were investigating a manifesto they believe belonged to the suspect that contained racist and antisemitic views. Authorities also said the gunman had written the N-word on the side of his gun alongside a white supremacist symbol.
The suspect on May 15 was charged with first-degree murder over the shooting. He pleaded not guilty.