Racially Motivated Shooting, Three Killed In Florida
On Saturday, a racially motivated gunman killed three black people and then killed himself in the New Town area of Jacksonville, Florida. The attack happened less than a mile from the historically black Edwards Waters University, and the shooter hated black people, according to reports.
“A Gunman killed three, himself in racially motivated shooting in Florida”, said T K Waters, Sheriff of Jacksonville in the press meet. The shooter, described as white and in his early 20s, follows a disgusting ideology of hate, says reports.
The accused entered a dollar store in the New Town area of Jacksonville and open fired. He was wearing a tactical vest and armed with an AR-style rifle and a hand gun. He killed three people before taking his life with the same gun.
Even though the shooter had aimed more people, no additional casualities reported.
The deceased victims includes two men and a woman, and are black.
#JSO Sheriff T.K. Waters, along with Mayor Donna Deegan, and other LEO partners and city leaders gathered today to speak about a shooting involving three victims – all of which died.
The suspect was located and pinned down by officers. He was subsequently found deceased and is… pic.twitter.com/G9TzOckC7D
— Jax Sheriff”s Office (@JSOPIO) August 26, 2023
Manifestos discovered by the gunman’s family shortly before the attack “detail the shooter’s disgusting ideology of hate,” Mr Waters said, and at least one of the guns had hand-drawn swastikas on it.
The shooter lived in Jacksonville”s Clay County with his parents and left several messages about his intentions to his parents, media, and to the federal agency, before attempting the crime.
The Federal Investigation (FBI) would investigate the incident as a hate crime. “Investigation is underway and there are still a lot of things we don”t know at this time”, said Mr Waters.
It was a “hate-filled crime” driven by racist hatred, said Mayor Donna Deegan.
“There have been over 28,000 gun deaths in the US so far this year”, reported BBC.
The Jacksonville attack comes on the 60th anniversary of the March on Washington and Martin Luther King Jr”s famous “I have a dream” speech. Tens of thousands of people gathered in the capital on Saturday to mark the historic milestone in the civil rights movement.
“This is a dark day in Jacksonville”s history. But the motive of “hatred” that led to the killing is an additional heartbreak”, said Mr Waters in the press meet.
