Buffalo shooting: Gunman pleads guilty to murder and terrorism charges

A white gunman who shot and killed 10 people in a racially motivated attack in Buffalo, New York has pleaded guilty to murder and terrorism charges.

The plea means he will be sentenced to life in prison without parole. New York does not have the death penalty.

Payton Gendron, 19, initially pleaded not guilty to the state charges in June.

"I understand this is a momentous and tremendously emotional event," Judge Susan Eagan said in court on Monday.

The judge named each victim and asked the gunman if he killed them because of their race. He showed little emotion as he said "yes" to each charge.

The charges include first-degree murder, murder as a hate crime, and domestic terrorism motivated by hate.

The gunman is also facing multiple federal charges over the May shooting which could come with the death penalty.

The attack happened after the gunman drove more than 320km (200 miles) to a predominantly black neighbourhood in Buffalo, New York's second-largest city.

The gunman, dressed in military gear, drove into the car park at the city's Tops Friendly Market and began livestreaming the shooting spree.

All of the 10 people who were killed were black. Three others were wounded.

Mayor Byron Brown said after the attack that the suspect had travelled there with the specific intention of ending "as many black lives as possible". The mayor was present in the courtroom on Monday.

An 180-page document seemingly authored by the alleged attacker has since emerged, in which he describes himself as a fascist and a white supremacist.