The white gunman who fatally shot three black people at a Dollar General store in Jacksonville, Florida, before turning the gun on himself appears to have been inspired by the fifth anniversary of a similar local mass shooting.
Moments before the Saturday afternoon shooting, the gunman, identified as 21-year-old Ryan Christopher Palmerer, texted his father to check his computer, which contained “various manifestos” detailing his hatred of black people. the police said.
Evidence has led officials to believe that Palmerer chose Aug. 26 to strike to coincide with the 2018 shooting at a video game tournament that left two people dead and nine injured.
David Katz, 24, a previous winner of the local annual Madden NFL tournament, opened fire on the crowd before killing himself.
The latest shooting also took place just a day before the 63rd anniversary of Jacksonville’s most infamous racist incident, known as “Ax Handle Saturday.”
Ryan Palmerer, 21, killed three black people before shooting himself in a Dollar General store on August 26 via REUTERS
During the famous event, 200 members of the Ku Klux Klan attacked black protesters who were holding a sit-in at businesses where white owners prevented them.
KKK members were armed with bats and ax handles and beat protesters as police watched and refused to act until a black street gang interfered.
Only black people were arrested in the incident.
The Dollar General shooter is seen wearing an AR-15, a pistol, a ballistic vest, gloves and a mask. Twitter/WJXTvic
The gunman shot two people inside the store. Twitter/WJXTvic
The gunman shot and killed a woman in her car in the parking lot. Twitter/WJXTvic
Saturday’s shooting also occurred just hours after the conclusion of the March on Washington’s 60th anniversary event, which celebrated Dr. Martin Luther King’s historic speech while renewing calls to crack down on crimes of hate across the country.
Police did not say whether the two anniversaries influenced Palmerer’s planning.
“This shooting was racially motivated and he hated black people,” Jacksonville Sheriff TK Waters told reporters Saturday.
The Jacksonville sheriff identifies Saturday’s General Dollar shooter as 21-year-old Ryan Palmerer. The video shows him with an AR-15, pistol, ballistic vest, gloves and mask. They shot a woman in a car in the parking lot, then 2 men inside the store. The sheriff calls the manifesto “diary of a madman.” @wjxt4 pic.twitter.com/UsSbG2GV44
—Vic Micolucci WJXT (@WJXTvic) August 27, 2023
Waters said Palmerer donned a tactical vest and carried a Glock and AR-15-style semi-automatic rifle that had swastikas and other symbols of Nazi Germany painted on it.
Authorities said the shooter was seen donning a mask at Edward Waters University, a local historically black university, Saturday afternoon before entering the nearby Dollar General and killing two men and a woman.
He shot himself there before the police arrived.
Palmere may have originally planned to shoot students at Edward Waters, but may have been spooked by security telling him to leave when he first arrived on campus, Waters said.
“This is a dark day in Jacksonville history. There is no place for hate in this community,” the sheriff said. “The personal ideology of this cowardly shooter disgusts me.”
The gunman’s AR-15-style rifle was covered in swastikas. Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office
The latest mass shooting in Jacksonville took place at the Dollar General, in a predominantly black community. Bob Self/Florida Times-Union/USA TODAY NETWORK/Sipa USA
Members of the local community held a prayer for the victims of the hate crime. PA
Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is campaigning in Iowa, also described the shooter as a “coward” and called him “trash” who claimed innocent lives.
“This guy killed himself rather than face the situation and accept responsibility for his actions. He took the coward’s way out,” the Republican said.
Federal authorities are investigating the attack, which they call a hate crime and “an act of racially motivated violent extremism,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement Sunday.
Police believe the shooting was partially inspired by David Katz, 24, who killed himself after fatally shooting two other people and wounding nine others during a video game tournament five years ago.
“The entire Department of Justice extends its deepest condolences to the loved ones of the victims and to the Jacksonville community as they grieve an unimaginable loss,” Garland said.
with postal wires
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Source: vtt.edu.vn