Tops Worker Said 911 Dispatcher Hung Up On Her During Buffalo Shooting

BUFFALO, NY — When a gunman opened fire at Tops Market in Buffalo on Saturday, assistant office manager Latisha Rogers hid behind the customer service desk and quietly called 911 for help.

When a dispatcher picked up, Rogers whispered, trying not to draw attention to herself as the shooter moved through the store, she told the Buffalo News.

Instead of helping her, the woman "left her to die," Rogers told the News.

"She was yelling at me, saying, 'Why are you whispering? You don't have to whisper,'" Rogers told the News, "and I was telling her, 'Ma'am, he's still in the store. He's shooting. I'm scared for my life. I don't want him to hear me. Can you please send help?' She got mad at me, hung up in my face."

Payton Gendron, 18, of Conklin, New York, is charged with first-degree murder after police said he walked into Tops Market on Buffalo's Jefferson Avenue wearing body armor and a camera on his helmet and opened fire.

Ten people were killed in the shooting, and three others were injured.

Rogers gave The New York Times a similar account of what happened during the 911 call, the Times reported.

Peter Anderson, a spokesman for Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz, said the call is under review and it's unclear who hung up on whom, the Times reported. He said the dispatcher's actions did not affect police response time.

Anderson said the dispatcher was placed on administrative leave pending a disciplinary hearing scheduled for May 30, according to the News.

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