Dollar general Store Shooting 4 Dead Including Gunman

4 People Dead Including Gunman in Dollar General Store Shooting at Jacksonville

An individual who initiated a shooting incident at a Dollar General store in Jacksonville, Florida, during Saturday afternoon resulted in the loss of three lives prior to the individual ending their own life, as stated by authorities.

The identity of the shooter, who remains unnamed at this time, was described by Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters as a Caucasian male in his early twenties. This individual left behind written materials described as “manifestos.”

Sheriff Waters conveyed during a press briefing on Saturday evening that the motivation behind the shooting was driven by racial factors, expressing that the perpetrator held strong animosity towards Black individuals. He further noted that the hate evident in the written materials adds an extra layer of sorrow to the already tragic event.

The victims, comprising two males and one female, have yet to be identified. However, Sheriff Waters confirmed that all three were of Black ethnicity. No additional casualties occurred as a result of the gunfire.

The shooter is believed to have resided in Clay County and traveled approximately 40 miles north to Jacksonville on the day of the incident. Prior to the attack, the individual donned a tactical vest and employed both an assault-style rifle and a handgun. Photographs of the weapons displayed during the press conference depicted swastikas painted on one side of the rifle.

Sheriff Waters noted that the assailant had sent a text message to his father before the assault, revealing the whereabouts of three manifesto documents. These documents were intended for his parents, the media, and federal agents. Approximately 30 minutes after receiving the message, the family reached out to the local sheriff’s office. Regrettably, by that time, the attack had already been initiated.

The shooter acted alone, and there is no evidence to suggest involvement with a larger group, according to Sheriff Waters. FBI agents are on the scene and have initiated a federal civil rights investigation, intending to categorize the incident as a hate crime.

Law enforcement shared that the shooter had been linked to a domestic call in 2016 but was not arrested. Additionally, the Baker Act was applied against the individual in 2017, a Florida statute that allows for the involuntary placement of individuals in a receiving facility for mental health treatment.

Reports from local news outlets indicated a significant police presence at the store located on Kings Road in the Northwest neighborhood of College Gardens, commencing around 1 p.m. on Saturday. Students at Edward Waters University, a nearby historically Black college, were instructed to remain within their residence halls until the situation was under control.

Mayor Donna Deegan of Jacksonville conveyed to News4JAX, a local TV station, that the shooter had barricaded themselves within the store. She remarked at the press conference that this act was a hate-fueled crime, expressing her conviction that such hatred should have no place within the community.

The shooting incident on Saturday occurred precisely five years after another shooting transpired during a gaming tournament in Jacksonville, where two individuals were killed and 11 others injured before the shooter took their own life.

Interestingly, this incident occurred on the very same day as a significant gathering in Washington, D.C., where thousands congregated to reinvigorate the push for racial justice, aligning with the 60th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.’s historic March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. Prominent speakers at the event highlighted the rise in hate crimes as a stark reflection of the precarious state of King’s visionary dream.