Jacksonville police identify victims of racially-motivated shooting in Florida

Authorities on Sunday identified three victims of a hate crime attack in Jacksonville, Florida, who were shot and killed a day earlier, during a press conference, according to CBS News.

Jacksonville police identified the victims as Angela Carr, 52, Anolt Laguerre Jr, 19, and Jerrald De'Shaun Gallion, 29. Laguerre was an employee at Dollar General, the company said in a statement on Sunday.

The shooter, identified as White 21-year-old Ryan Palmeter, took his own life shortly after killing the three victims, according to Jacksonville Sheriff TK Waters.

Waters revealed that the shooter, who had an AR-15-style weapon with swastikas and a Glock handgun, killed Carr by firing 11 shots into her car and went back to kill Laguerre inside Dollar General with Gallion as his next victim.

He was also sporting a tactical jacket and mask.

Tracing back his footsteps, Waters revealed that the shooter first went to Edward Waters University (EWU), a historically Black university in Jacksonville, as seen in a TikTok video showing him putting on a bulletproof vest at the campus.

The gunman was flagged as suspicious by a security guard as he left EWU because he refused to identify himself.

At the Dollar General, the gunman let several people out while carrying out the shooting. At one point, he chased a witness and shot at her, but missed, Waters added, according to CBS News.

Officers then entered the building — 11 minutes after the incident began — and heard a single gunshot, which they believed was when the gunman killed himself, according to Waters.

The gunman, who lived with his parents in Orange Park in Clay County, Florida, had no criminal record, but there is record of a domestic violence call involving his brother and he was once involuntarily committed to a mental hospital for examination, Waters said.

During the shooting, the gunman texted his father, telling him to use a screwdriver to get into the gunman's room where he had left behind notes, Waters said.

Waters said the gunman purchased his both firearms legally and there were no flags that would have come up to stop him from purchasing them. He also referred to the gunman as a "madman" and said there was no logic to his violent actions.

"I urge us all not to look for sense in a senseless act of violence," Waters said. "There's no reason or explanation that will ever account for the shooter's decisions and actions."

"His sickening ideology is not representative of the values of this Jacksonville community that we all love so much," he added. "We are not a community of hate. We stand united with the good and decent people of this city. We reject this inexcusable violence, and this agency will not rest until this investigation is complete and every available avenue of accountability have been exhausted."

Attorney General Merrick Garland on Sunday called the shooting "an act of racially-motivated violent extremism" and said it was being investigated as a hate crime.

President Biden on Sunday noted that the shooting occurred as thousands converged in Washington, DC to commemorate the 60th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr's "I Have a Dream" speech and the March on Washington.

US President Joe Biden said in a statement: "Even as we continue searching for answers, we must say clearly and forcefully that white supremacy has no place in America.

"We must refuse to live in a country where Black families going to the store or Black students going to school live in fear of being gunned down because of the colour of their skin. Hate must have no safe harbour. Silence is complicity and we must not remain silent."

Vice President Kamala Harris said on social media: "I am heartbroken by yesterday's shooting in Jacksonville. This act was reportedly driven by racism and hatred, carried out with a weapon of war that should never have been on the streets.

"These tragedies must stop. We must renew the ban on assault weapons. It is long overdue."