A 911 operator has been placed on leave after reportedly hanging up on a Tops grocery clerk.

According to local sources, a Tops grocery employee who survived Saturday’s horrific shooting in Buffalo, New York, said that a 911 operator hung up on her as she was attempting to obtain help.

The dispatcher has been placed on administrative leave “waiting for a disciplinary hearing,” which is scheduled for the week of May 30, at which time “termination will be pursued.” Peter Anderson, press secretary for the Erie County Executive, On Tuesday, May 17, 2022, people gather across the street at Tops Friendly Market at Jefferson Avenue and Riley Street in Buffalo, NY.

Anderson stated that an internal inquiry into the event began the day after the shooting on May 15, and the individual was placed on administrative leave on May 16.

“It should be noted that the employee’s actions had no influence on the delivery of the call. In about 30 seconds, the first request was sent for an immediate police response “Anderson continued.

On Wednesday, May 18, 2022, a tribute to the victims of the Buffalo mass shooting is visible beside the Tops Friendly Market at Jefferson Avenue and Riley Street in Buffalo, NY. When an 18-year-old shooting suspect arrived at the supermarket on the afternoon of May 14 and began his rampage that eventually killed 10 Black people in what FBI Director Christopher Wray is calling “a hate crime and an act of racially motivated violent extremism,” a Tops employee named Latisha told WGRZ that she tried to call 911 for help.

“I tried to call 911 while whispering since I could hear him nearby,” Latisha explained to the site. “And when I called 911 while whispering, the dispatcher began shouting at me, asking, ‘Why are you whispering?’ You do not need to whisper.’ And I’m telling her things like, ‘Ma’am, he’s in the shop.’ He’s aiming. There is an active shooter. ‘I’m afraid for my life.’ And she shouted something ridiculous to me, then hung up in my face. And I had to phone 911 via my boyfriend.”

On Wednesday, May 18, 2022, Howard Patton pays his respects at a makeshift monument across the street from Tops Friendly Market at Jefferson Avenue and Riley Street in Buffalo, NY.

The Erie County Central Police Services did not reply quickly to an inquiry. Suspect Payton Gendron is suspected of killing ten people and live streaming the alleged hate crime assault on Twitch on Saturday afternoon. Three more persons were hurt. According to local police, eleven of the victims were Black, and he is suspected of posting a 180-page dossier online outlining his plot and motivations.

Roberta A. Drury, 32, Margus D. Morrison, 52, Andre Mackneil, 53, Aaron Salter, 55, Geraldine Talley, 62, Celestine Chaney, 65, Heyward Patterson, 67, Katherine Massey, 72, Pearl Young, 77, and Ruth Whitfield, 86, were the fatalities.

Zaire Goodman, 20, Jennifer Warrington, 50, and Christopher Braden, 55, were confirmed as the injured survivors. Gedron was charged with first-degree murder in Buffalo City Court. He appeared in court late Saturday and pleaded not guilty. He was ordered held without bail by the judge, and he is expected back in court on Thursday. Prosecutors have intimated that further charges would be filed.