A racist white man killed three black people in a racially motivated attack then killed himself in Jacksonville, Florida.
‘He hated Black people,’ the sheriff said
The man, identified by local media as 21-year-old Ryan Palmeter, entered a Dollar General store and opened fire with an AR-15 assault rifle.
Sheriff T K Waters said three blacks – two men and a woman – were killed by the gunman, who wore body armor and left manifestos of his “disgusting ideology of hate.” The gunman had swastikas drawn on his AR-15-style rifle
“This shooting was racially motivated, and he hated Black people,” Sheriff Waters said.
“He targeted a certain group of people and that’s Black people. That’s what he said he wanted to kill. And that’s very clear,” Sheriff Waters said. The manifestos made it clear: “He wanted to kill n******,” the sheriff said.
The attack happened less than a mile from the historically black Edwards Waters University.
The shooter first went to the university campus, where he was asked to identify himself by a security officer, the university said in a statement. When he refused, he was asked to leave.
“The individual returned to their car and left campus without incident,” the statement added.
Ryan Palmeter lived with his parents in nearby Oakleaf and was a registered Republican, according to Florida voting records.
Mass shootings have become commonplace in the U.S., with more than 469 so far in 2023, according to the Gun Violence Archive.
The Jacksonville shooting is clearly a copy cat hate crime. Just like the New Zealand and Buffalo shooters, the Jacksonville shooter painted his AR15 rifle with racist messages. It’s only a matter of time before the next one. pic.twitter.com/JymrpVxYv2— Carleton Hall (@carltonwhallesq) August 27, 2023
Jacksonville sheriff: "There’s absolutely no evidence the shooter is part of any large group.”
Or he COULD have said:
“There’s growing evidence the shooter is part of a wider movement of domestic terrorists inspired by conspiracies, bigotry, and far-right political leaders.”— Miles Taylor (@MilesTaylorUSA) August 27, 2023
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