All we know after 3 killed in shooting from swastika gun to racist manifesto

28 August 2023 , 09:50

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The gun had swastikas daubed on it (Image: AFP via Getty Images)

A racist gunman, armed with swastika painted weapons, walked into a supermarket in a predominantly Black area and shot dead three people.

The city was left reeling after 21-year-old Ryan Palmeter killed the trio before taking his own life in Jacksonville, Florida. The killer had penned a manifesto before the spree, sending it to his family, federal law enforcement and at least one media outlet.

The victims, all of whom are black, 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 Gerrald Gallion, 29, who was shot as he entered the store.

Here is everything we know about the massacre so far.

A crime scene at the Dollar General (Getty Images)

What happened

Gunman Ryan Palmeter left his parents’ house in Clay County, Florida, at around 11.40am on Saturday, law enforcement revealed.

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He first went to the campus of Edward Waters University, a historically Black school with about 1,000 students.

The school later revealed he was spotted on campus by a security guard shortly before the shooting and asked to leave when he refused to identify himself. He was seen putting on his bullet-resistant vest and mask before he drove away. Jacksonville Sheriff TK Waters said Sunday that it does not appear that he intended to attack the school.

Law enforcement vehicles line the street as officials investigate the scene of a mass shooting at the store (AP)

“The individual returned to their car and left campus without incident. The encounter was reported to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office by EWU security,” the school said in a press release.

Shortly after 1pm, Palmeter texted his dad telling him to check his computer. His parents found “several manifestoes” written by their son, intended for them, law enforcement, and the media. Sheriff Waters described the writings as “the diary of a madman."

Just before 2pm, the gunman's dad called the police but by then it was too late. The sheriff said “by that time, [the shooter] had begun his shooting spree inside the Dollar General”.

Police swarmed to the scene (AP)

The shooting erupted at the store in New Town, a predominantly Black neighbourhood. At 1.08 p.m., at the Dollar General parking lot, the gunman shot into a black Kia and killed the first victim.

The victims

Angela Michelle Carr, 52, who was shot in her car outside; store employee A.J. Laguerre, 19, who was shot as he tried to flee; and customer Jerrald Gallion, 29, who was shot as he entered the store. No one else was injured.

Angela Michelle Carr, another of Palmeter's victims (Murder_and_its_victims/Facebook)

Jerald Gallion had a daughter who was just a toddler (Cho Lildee/ Facebook)

Jerrald, whose picture has been released, was a dad, 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.

The gunman

Ryan Palmeter, 21, lived in neighbouring Clay County with his parents. Sheriff Waters said Palmeter had been involved in a 2016 domestic violence incident that did not lead to an arrest and was involuntarily committed for a 72-hour mental health examination the following year.

Ryan Palmeter, the young man behind the attack (JAX SHERIFFS OFFICE/UNPIXS)

Jerrald Gallion was planning on spending the day with his four-year-old daughter (Facebook)

He used two guns — a Glock handgun and an AR-15 semiautomatic rifle - with the rifle daubed with a swastika. Waters said they were purchased legally earlier this year.

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The shooter's motivation

Racism. During the attack, Palmeter texted his father and told him to break into his room and check his computer. There, the father found a suicide note, a will and racist writings from his son.

The family notified authorities, but by then the shooting had already begun, the sheriff said. Officials say there were writings to his family, federal law enforcement and at least one media outlet. At least one of the guns had swastikas painted on it.

Press conference about the massacre (@JSOPIO/Twitter)

Sheriff Waters said those manifestos "detailed the shooter's disgusting ideology of hate".

"Finely put: this shooting was racially motivated and he hated black people." he said.

"The manifesto is, quite frankly... the diary of a madman," he said. "He knew what he was doing. He was 100% lucid. He knew what he was doing and again, it's disappointing that anyone would go to these lengths to hurt someone else".

The shooting also came five years to the day of a mass shooting in downtown Jacksonville during a video game tournament. The attack also coincided with the commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the March on Washington, the iconic civil rights demonstration that called on the government to better protect the rights of Black people."

Reactions from across the country

Following the attack, politicians were quick to condemn the motivations behind the killings.

Florida State Rep. Angie Nixon: “We must be clear, it was not just racially motivated, it was racist violence that has been perpetuated by rhetoric and policies designed to attack Black people, period.”

Attending a vigil for the victims, Florida Governor and presidential hopeful Ron DeSantis was booed. He previously called the shooter a “scumbag” and a coward for killing himself “rather than face the music”.

“Perpetrating violence of this kind is unacceptable, and targeting people due to their race has no place in the state of Florida,” DeSantis added.

Florida governor Ron DeSantis was heckled at a vigil to the victims (AP)

Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan said: “I’ve heard some people say that some of the rhetoric that we hear doesn’t really represent what’s in people’s hearts, it’s just the game. It’s just the political game. Those three people who lost their lives, that’s not a game. That’s the reality of what we’re dealing with. Please let us stop viewing each other as pieces on a game board, and let us please start to see each other’s humanity.“

Charlie Jones