3 Black people killed at dollar general in racially motivated’ shooting in Florida

NIMH Ep # 632
3 Black people killed at dollar general in racial in Florida

A shooting that killed three people inside a Jacksonville, Florida, Dollar General store on Saturday was racially motivated, the Jacksonville sheriff has said.
A white man, armed with a high-powered rifle and a handgun entered the discount store just before 2pm and shot and killed two men and one woman, before fatally shooting himself. All three victims are Black.
“He hated Black people,” sheriff TK Waters told a news conference. “There is absolutely no evidence the shooter is part of any larger group.”

Waters said the shooter, who was in his 20s, used a Glock handgun and an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle with at least one of the firearms painted with a swastika. He said the shooter left behind “several manifestos” for media, his parents and law enforcement detailing his hatred for Black people. The writings led investigators to believe that he committed the shooting because it was the fifth anniversary of another Jacksonville shooting.
“The hate that motivated the shooter’s killing spree adds an additional layer of heartbreak,” Waters said.
The shooter had driven there from neighboring Clay County. Shortly before the attack, the shooter had sent his father a text message telling him to check his computer. The father found writings and the family notified 911, but the shooting had already begun, Waters said.
The sheriff said the shooter had been seen at a nearby historically Black college, Edward Waters University, where he put on his tactical vest and a mask before going to the Dollar General, a discount chain with stores across the United States.