A gunman fatally shot three Black people with an assault rifle covered in swastikas inside a Jacksonville, Florida, store in what police are calling a “racially motivated” attack on Saturday.
The victims were described as two African-American men and a woman, who were killed by a white man, who shot himself dead before he could be apprehended.
The unidentified shooter was previously seen hanging around the campus of a nearby historically black university before the attack, and he detailed his hatred of black people in one of “several manifestos,” authorities said.
“This shooting was racially motivated and I hated black people,” Jacksonville Sheriff TK Waters said at a news conference.
“I wanted to kill an——”.
The shooter used weapons marked with swastikas in the shooting that left three black people dead.
The “maniac”, who was in his early 20s, stormed into the store with a tactical vest, a Glock and an “AR-15 style” rifle, with swastikas painted on it.
Despite the Nazi symbols, police said “there is absolutely no evidence that the shooter is part of a larger group.”
“Frankly, this was a maniac who decided he wanted to take lives,” Waters said. “He targeted a certain group of people, and those are the blacks, that’s what he said he wanted to kill. And that is very clear.
“Any member of that race at that time was in danger…from the black race.”
The victims were described as two African-American men and a woman, who were killed by a white man, who shot himself dead before he could be apprehended. PA
According to police, the shooter was involuntarily institutionalized in 2017 through a state law called the “Baker Law.”
The year before, he was involved in a domestic call that ended with no arrests.
Police offered few details about her identity, but said she lived in neighboring Clay County with her parents.
The police were searching the house on Saturday night.
Gov. Ron DeSantis, after speaking with the sheriff on the phone, called the shooter “trash” and denounced his racist motivation.
Police at the scene of a shooting at a Dollar General in Jacksonville, Florida on August 26, 2023.WJXT
“He was targeting people based on their race. That is totally unacceptable. This guy killed himself instead of coping with the situation and accepting responsibility for his actions. He took the cowards’ way out. We condemn what happened in the strongest possible terms,” said DeSantis, who was in Iowa campaigning for the Republican presidential nomination.
The FBI has reportedly opened a federal investigation into the attack, which they are treating as a hate crime.
Mayor Donna Deegan, who was at the scene, previously confirmed that there were “multiple deaths” following the shooting at a store.
She told News4Jax that a man had barricaded himself inside the Dollar General.
The unidentified shooter was previously seen hanging around the campus of a nearby historically black university before the attack.
Councilman Ju’Coby Pittman told the media that the shooter was dead.
“My heart is heavy. I’m tired of all the shooting,” she said.
Dollar General also issued a statement denouncing the tragedy.
“We are heartbroken by the senseless act of violence that occurred today at our Kings Road store in Jacksonville, Florida. At this time, supporting our Jacksonville employees and the DG family affected by this tragedy is a top priority as we work closely with law enforcement,” a spokesperson for the network said.
Mayor Donna Deegan, who is at the scene, confirmed that there were multiple deaths in the shooting. WJXT
Before the shooting, a man believed to be the gunman had been seen on the nearby campus of Edward Waters University, a small, historically black college.
A campus security guard asked the man to identify himself after he was seen near the school library.
When he refused, they asked him to leave and he retreated to his car, the university said in a statement.
He was later seen donning a ballistic vest and mask.
Campus security was called and unsuccessfully tried to apprehend the man.
The suspect’s parents are said to have called the police after finding the manifesto.
Deegan said a man was barricaded at the Dollar General store.WJXT
He reportedly left messages for both his family and federal authorities about his hatred.
The shooter left Clay County for Jacksonville around 11:39 a.m. and texted his father at 1:18 p.m. telling him to look on his computer, Waters said.
The gunman’s family called the Clay County Sheriff’s Office around 1:53 p.m., just as the shooting began.
His messages to his family detailed “a disgusting ideology of hate.”
The suspect’s parents are said to have called the police after finding the manifesto. PA
Action News Jax cited sources as saying the gunman was wearing a tactical vest, mask and gloves.
EWU students remained in their residence halls until the site was cleared.
No students or faculty are believed to have been involved in the shooting, university officials said.
A witness told News4Jax that the shooter fired at some cars.
A witness told News4Jax that the shooter fired at some cars.WJXT
SWAT team members were seen earlier that day outside Dollar General engaging in a possible confrontation with an armed suspect, Action News Jax reported.
First responders from the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department and the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office were also on scene.
“This is unacceptable,” Deegan said.
“One shooting is too many, but these mass shootings are really hard to bear.”
Saturday’s shooting occurred five years to the day a gunman killed 2 people and wounded 11 others at a video game tournament in Jacksonville before turning the gun on himself.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn