Jacksonville shooting: Biden condemns 'white supremacy' after three killed

Victim Jerrald Gallion (right) was shot dead. Credit: AP

US President Joe Biden has said white supremacy "has no place in America" after a "racially motivated" shooting left three dead in Florida.

Hundreds of people gathered at prayer vigils and in church on Sunday to mourn the killing of three Black people at the hands of 21-year-old Ryan Palmeter.

Authorities said the perpetrator left behind white supremacist ramblings that read like "the diary of a madman".

"We must say clearly and forcefully that white supremacy has no place in America," Biden said in a statement.

Parishioners pray during a service for the victims. Credit: AP

"We must refuse to live in a country where Black families going to the store or Black students going to school live in fear of being gunned down because of the colour of their skin."

Ryan Palmeter, a white man, showed up at the Dollar General store in Jacksonville where officials said he opened fire on Saturday using guns he bought legally, despite a past involuntary commitment for a mental health exam.

Sheriff T.K. Waters identified those killed as Angela Michelle Carr, 52, who was shot in her car, store employee A.J. Laguerre, 19, who was shot as he tried to flee, and customer Jerrald Gallion, 29, who was shot as he entered the store.

Palmeter killed himself as police arrived, about 11 minutes after the shooting began.

Republican Governor Ron DeSantis - who is running for the GOP nomination for president and has loosened gun laws in Florida - was loudly booed as he addressed the vigil.

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Residents gather for a prayer near the scene. Credit: AP

DeSantis said that on Monday the state would be announcing financial support for security at Edward Waters University, the historically black college near where the shooting occurred, and to help the affected families.

He called the gunman a "major league scumbag."

"What he did is totally unacceptable in the state of Florida," DeSantis said.

"We are not going to let people be targeted based on their race."

The sheriff said a video posted on TikTok with no timestamp showed Palmeter donning a bullet-resistant vest.

A university security guard spotted Palmeter and parked near him.

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Ron DeSantis and his wife, Casey, bow their heads during a vigil. Credit: AP

Palmeter drove off and the security guard flagged down a Jacksonville sheriff’s officer who was about to send out an alert to other officers when the shooting began at the store.

"He was just completely irrational," Mr Waters said.

"But with irrational thoughts, he knew what he was doing. He was 100% lucid."

Biden spoke to Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan in the wake of the shooting.

The president also spoke with Sheriff Waters and in both calls, he offered his full support to the people of Jacksonville, according to a statement from the White House.

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