Buffalo shooting: Ten dead in racially motivated attack at New York state store

An 18-year-old white man has shot dead 10 people in a black neighbourhood of New York state in what authorities are calling a racially motivated attack.

The man, named as Payton Gendron in court papers, was arrested after a stand-off at the scene - a supermarket in the city of Buffalo.

He began firing in the store's car park before entering and continuing his rampage, streaming the attack online.

US President Joe Biden condemned what he described as an "abhorrent" act.

"We are investigating this incident as both a hate crime and a case of racially-motivated violent extremism," said Stephen Belongia, from the FBI's Buffalo office, adding there was evidence of "racial animosity."

CBS news reported that the attacker shouted racial slurs during the shooting and suggested that he had a racial slur written on his weapon. He also apparently posted a manifesto online which included racist language and ideas.

The suspect is believed to have driven for some 200 miles to reach the predominantly black area of the city.

Three people were shot dead in the car park and the other seven were killed inside the supermarket, police said. Most of the victims were black.

"He exited his vehicle. He was very heavily armed. He had tactical gear. He had a tactical helmet on. He had a camera that he was live-streaming what he was doing," Buffalo Police Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia told reporters.

He said the suspect surrendered his weapon after a tense stand-off and was taken into custody. He later appeared in court charged with first degree murder.

Three more people, all supermarket staff, were wounded in the shooting but did not sustain life-threatening injuries.

A retired police officer, named in local media as Aaron Salter, was working as a security guard in the store and was shot dead in the attack. Police said he had tried to shoot the suspect, who then shot him dead.

Two of the other people killed have been named in the local paper as Ruth Whitfield and Katherine Massey. A church deacon who worked as a driver was also killed, Buffalo News reports.