27 August 2023 , 22:02
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Two of the three people shot and killed in a racist mass shooting at a Dollar General store in Jacksonville, Florida on Saturday have been pictured. The authorities are calling the attack by evil Ryan Palmeter a racially motivated hate crime..
The gunman, 21-year-old Palmeter, unleashed a racist rampage with a AR-15 semi-automatic rifle, resulting in the deaths of three people
They were identified as Angela Michelle Carr, 52, who was shot in her car; store employee AJ Laguerre, 19, who was shot as he tried to flee; and customer Jerrald Gallion, 29, who was shot as he entered the store, which is in a predominantly black neighbourhood, and has been pictured tonight.
Jerrald, whose picture was recently released, was a father, and he had planned to spend the day with his 4-year-old daughter. But the devoted family man was gunned down right next to his girlfriend as he entered the store on Saturday.
Palmeter killed himself after killing the three victims. He fatally shot the three black victims with guns bought legally despite him once being involuntarily committed for a mental health examination, the local sheriff has said.
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Jerrald Gallion, 29, was shot dead as he entered the Dollar General in Jacksonville on Saturday (Facebook)
Angela Michelle Carr, another of Palmeter's victims (Murder_and_its_victims/Facebook)Palmeter had legally purchased his guns in recent months even though he had been involuntarily committed for a mental health examination in 2017, Sheriff TK Waters said.
“Therein lies the difficulty. When a person grabs hold of a gun with hateful intentions, it is very difficult to stop that from happening,” the sheriff said.
The Justice Department is investigating the shooting as a hate crime and act of racially motivated violent extremism, Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement Sunday.
Twenty-one year old Ryan Christopher Palmeter fired eleven rounds at one woman sitting in her car in Jacksonville, before entering a shop and shooting another two people. (JAX SHERIFFS OFFICE/UNPIXS)
Jerald Gallion had a daughter who was just a toddler (Cho Lildee/ Facebook)The masked gunman "hated Black people" and left behind a racist manifesto, police have revealed. The suspect used racial slurs and left behind writings to his parents, the media and federal agents outlining his “disgusting ideology of hate,” the sheriff told reporters.
Sheriff T.K. Waters said: “This shooting was racially motivated, and he hated Black people. This is a dark day in Jacksonville’s history. Any loss of life is tragic, but the hate that motivated the shooter’s killing spree adds an additional layer of heartbreak.” The shooter did not appear to know the victims and it is believed he acted alone, he added.
Ryan Palmeter shot one of his victims as she sat in her car outside a store in Jacksonville (Jackson Sheriff's Office)The shooting reportedly occurred sometime around 1.30pm at the Dollar General on Kings Road, Waters said. The suspect had texted his father at 1.18pm to "check his computer,". The father then found a suicide note, a will and writings that police described as racist. His father immediately called the police.
But the shooting had already begun, and in a matter of minutes, the three innocent victims at the store were already dead. The shooter then barricaded himself inside the store and got into a standoff with the police, which ended in him shooting himself dead.
Law enforcement blocked off the roads near the scene of the fatal shooting as SWAT teams responded (AP)The shooter first made his way to the store from the nearby Edward Waters University campus, where witnesses reported that they had seen him strapping on a ballistics vest, then fleeing from campus security. He had allegedly been aiming to shoot students and professors at the historically Black university instead of the Dollar General but got spooked by the security personnel.
One witness narrowly evaded the attack — he told News4Jax that he had been just seconds away from entering the store to run errands. Instead, he had turned back, realising that he was without cash. Seconds later, the gunshots rang out, and the witness saw a woman running and a man fall back.
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Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters speaks to the press during a conference following the shooting (AFP via Getty Images)Local resident Virginia Bradford said the Dollar General store where the shooting took place is a shop she frequents, noting that she knows everyone in the store. She had almost paid them a visit to run an errand that Saturday — but now, she said she won't ever go back.
"I won't even send my kids up there anymore," she said, emphasising just how rattled she was by the racism behind the incident. "My nerves are bad."
The guns that were used to slaughter the three innocent Black people at the Dollar General, which are littered with drawings of swastikas (AFP via Getty Images)Gun violence activist organisation Brady released a statement from its president, Kris Brown, condemning the violence and highlighting the ease with which Americans like Palmeter — who had previously checked himself into a mental ward — could access firearms.
"As we’ve seen time and time again, hate combined with easy access to firearms is an incredibly deadly combination. Only in America are Black people gunned down with a swastika-adorned assault weapon," Brown stated. "People who want to commit racist terror should never be allowed to access a firearm."
A crime scene remains at the Dollar General (Getty Images)"Sadly, today’s tragedy is not unique as each year, over 10,000 are victims of hate crimes involving a firearm," Brown continued. "Additionally, Florida's incredibly weak gun safety laws, including its recent permitless concealed carry law, are increasingly put Americans at risk of mass shootings like this. Our hearts go out to the families and survivors of this horrific tragedy.”
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis spoke to the media following the shooting. He had been in Iowa campaigning for his presidential run in 2024 at the time.
Ryan Palmeter shoots a store employee (Jackson Sheriff's Office)The Republican called the shooting "a very cowardly act" and called Palmeter just as cowardly for taking his own life instead of "facing the music" after what he had done. He said his administration "condemn[s] what happened in the strongest possible terms."
The act of mass violence also occurred the same day that the Leadership Conference, a Civil Rights activist group, helped to sponsor a commemorative March on Washington for the 60th anniversary of the famous march from 1963, during which Martin Luther King, Jr., delivered his "I Have A Dream" speech. The actual anniversary of that march is on Monday, August 28.
Law enforcement examines the scene at the Dollar General, where Ryan Palmeter killed three innocent Black individuals (AP)Dollar General also released a statement about the incident: "We are heartbroken by the senseless act of violence that occurred at our Kings Road store in Jacksonville, Florida today. At this time, supporting our Jacksonville employees and the DG family impacted by this tragedy is a top priority as we work closely with law enforcement."
"This is a dark day in Jacksonville’s history," Waters said. "Any loss of life is tragic, but the hate that motivated the shooter’s killing spree adds an additional layer of heartbreak."
"Our Jacksonville community collectively cries tonight."