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A New York man who opened fire with a high-powered rifle at a Buffalo-area retail store in 2017, wounding one person, pleaded guilty to an attempted murder charge Thursday and agreed to serve a 10-year prison sentence.
Travis Green, 34, of Buffalo, took the plea deal during a hearing in Erie County Court, District Attorney John Flynn said. Sentencing was set for July 6.
Police called it a miracle that more people were not injured or killed when Green sprayed more than 20 bullets at the front of the Dollar General store in Cheektowaga from the parking lot. Several customers and employees were inside at the time. A 53-year-old man outside the store was wounded in the shoulder but survived.
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Green had earlier gone inside the store on Nov. 14, 2017, to request a job application and became irate, authorities said. He left the store, got a pump-action rifle from his car and started shooting.
A nearby store owner who saw the shooting jumped into his car, drove to the Dollar General and struck Green, who then tried to run away but was caught by police.
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Police said they later found a second rifle in Green’s car and more than 850 rounds of ammunition.
After the shooting, Green’s mother said stress appeared to be a factor because he had recently broken up with his wife and lost his job. Green had been ruled incompetent to stand trial but was later ruled competent as he received treatment.
Green’s lawyer, Paul Dell, said Thursday that it has been difficult for his client to come to terms with what he did.
“He feels very fortunate that no one was seriously injured,” Dell said. “This was not a hate crime nor was it political in any way, it was the worst day of his life.”
The Buffalo News reported Dell said Green would only have about three more years in prison to serve with a 10-year sentence because he has been imprisoned since the shooting and will get time off his sentence for good behavior.