BUFFALO, N.Y. — Attorneys were back in federal court Tuesday afternoon to discuss the timeline of a filing of 12.2 motion, or mental examination, by the defense of Buffalo mass shooter Payton Gendron.

Gendron is currently serving life in prison without parole after pleading guilty to state charges of murder and domestic terrorism motivated by hate. Now, his case heads to federal trial.

The U.S. Department of Justice announced it would seek the death penalty back in January.

Attorneys met in front of Judge Lawrence Vilardo to set a date for the defense to file a 12.2 motion, which includes a mental examination. The defense argued to push back the date, calling the motion an "enormous task." The prosecution argued they wanted time after the defense filed the motion to secure their experts. Vilardo decided to keep the deadline of May 19, 2025, the same. 

Families of the victims of the shooting expressed their doubts about Gendron's inability to stand trial.

“Well, we know that’s crazy," said Barbara Massey-Mapps, sister of Katherine Massey, a victim of the racist shooting. "If you can sit there, I don’t watch a lot of Court TV, but if you can plan it [and] execute it, you were fine in that moment. But naturally, the defense is going to try to make it run, run, run. We understand. Is it painful? Yeah, we’re tired of it. Let’s move forward. But we’ve just got to wait till September of next year.”

Neither the defense attorneys nor prosecution attorneys gave comment.

Gendron's federal trial date is set for Sept. 8, 2025.