Jacksonville shooting: Ryan Palmeter named as gunman behind 'racist' killings

A Florida community has been 'shaken' by a racist shooting which left three people dead, as Sam Holder reports.

A gunman who shot dead three black people in a "racially motivated" attack in Florida has been named. Two men and one woman were killed in the shooting in Jacksonville when 21-year-old Ryan Palmeter opened fire in a Dollar General store using a gun painted with a swastika before turning the gun on himself.

Palmeter killed Angela Michelle Carr, 52, inside her car outside the Dollar General store in Jacksonville before shooting dead employee AJ Laguerre, 19, and customer Gerrald Gallion, 29, inside, Sheriff T K Walters told a news conference on Sunday.

Palmeter had legally purchased his guns in recent months even though he had been involuntarily committed for a mental health examination in 2017. “He hated black people,” Sheriff T.K. Waters said after seeing the gunman's manifestos, which were sent to officials and at least one media outlet shortly before the attack. He added that the gunman acted alone and “there is absolutely no evidence the shooter is part of any larger group.”

The gunman lived with his parents in neighboring Clay County and had texted his father during the shooting and told him to break into his room, Waters said. The father then found a suicide note, a will, and writings that Waters has described as racist.

Waters said the guns were purchased in April and in June, with the dealers following all the laws and procedures, including background checks. Because Palmeter was released after his mental health examination, that would have not shown up on his background checks.

The attack came on the fifth anniversary of another shooting at video game tournament in Jacksonville in which two people were killed. The gunman had been seen at a nearby historically Black college, Edward Waters University, the sheriff said, adding it was unknown if he had originally planned to attack the school. “I can’t tell you what his mindset was while he was there, but he did go there,” the sheriff said.

Edward Waters students were locked down in their dorms for several hours after the shooting. No students or faculty are believed to be involved, the school said.

Dollar General’s corporate office said in a statement that the company was supporting its Jacksonville employees “as we work closely with law enforcement.” The gun violence in Jacksonville marked one of several reported shooting incidents in the US over two days, including at a high school football game and a parade.

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