Three people were tragically killed in a shooting that took place in Jacksonville, Florida, in what authorities believe to be a hate crime. The incident, which has left the community shocked and devastated, is currently under investigation.
During a press conference, the Jacksonville sheriff referred to the shooting as a senseless act of violence that has taken innocent lives. The victims have been identified as Angela Carr, 52, Anolt Laguerre Jr, 19, and Jerrald De’Shaun Gallion, 29. Laguerre worked as an employee at Dollar General.
The shooter, identified as 21-year-old Ryan Palmeter, took his own life shortly after committing the crime. He was armed with an AR-15-style weapon adorned with swastikas, as well as a Glock handgun. The shooter first targeted Carr by firing multiple shots into her car, before proceeding to Dollar General to kill Laguerre. Gallion became the next victim during the shooting spree.
Authorities revealed that the shooter had a tactical jacket and mask on during the attack. Investigators traced his movements leading up to the incident, discovering a TikTok video of him at Edward Waters University (EWU), a historically Black university in Jacksonville, where he is seen putting on a bulletproof vest. At EWU, a security guard found the shooter suspicious as he left the campus without identifying himself.
Inside Dollar General, the shooter allowed several people to leave before carrying out the attack. At one point, he even chased a witness and fired shots at her, narrowly missing. Officers entered the building approximately 11 minutes after the incident began and heard a single gunshot, which they believed to be the moment the shooter took his own life.
According to the sheriff, the gunman lived with his parents in Orange Park, Florida, and did not have a criminal record. However, there was a record of a domestic violence call involving his brother, and the shooter had been involuntarily committed to a mental hospital in the past. The gunman purchased both firearms legally, and there were no red flags to prevent him from doing so.
In a text message to his father during the shooting, the gunman instructed him to use a screwdriver to access his room, where he had left behind notes. The sheriff emphasized that the shooter’s violent actions and ideology had no logic and were not representative of the Jacksonville community.
The Attorney General, Merrick Garland, has labeled the shooting as an act of racially-motivated violent extremism and stated that it is being investigated as a hate crime. President Joe Biden, who was in Washington, DC for the 60th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr’s I Have a Dream speech and the March on Washington, expressed his condolences and condemned white supremacy, urging the nation to reject such hatred.
Vice President Kamala Harris echoed these sentiments, calling for renewed efforts to ban assault weapons, citing the Jacksonville shooting as another tragic example of the need for gun control measures.
As the investigation into this horrific shooting continues, the community of Jacksonville mourns the loss of innocent lives and stands united against hate and violence.
