Gunman kills three Black people in Florida hate crime-police

A masked white gunman has perpetrated a targeted attack, resulting in the deaths of three Black individuals. The incident occurred within a shop in Jacksonville, Southern United States, and is being characterized as a racially-motivated hate crime, as confirmed by local law enforcement.

The assailant, believed to be in his 20s, entered the Dollar General outlet equipped with both an assault-style rifle and a handgun, all while clad in body armor. He ruthlessly shot and killed two Black men and one Black woman present in the store. Following a confrontation with law enforcement, the gunman ultimately turned the weapon on himself, bringing the ordeal to a tragic end.

Sheriff T K Waters of the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office addressed the media during a press conference, unequivocally stating that the attack was driven by racial animosity. Authorities have yet to release the name of the perpetrator. In a disturbing revelation, it was disclosed that the assailant had written several manifestos, detailing his abhorrent ideology of hate. The rifle he used bore hand-drawn swastikas.

The assailant’s movement was traced to a local historically Black college, Edward Waters University, where he outfitted himself with a mask and body armor before proceeding to the Dollar General store. The victims of this heinous attack have been withheld from public identification.

Officials have underscored the gravity of this incident by initiating a civil rights investigation at the federal level. Sherri Onks, who heads the Jacksonville FBI office, emphasized the urgency of addressing hate crimes due to their capacity to threaten and intimidate entire communities.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who is also pursuing the Republican nomination for the 2024 presidential race, condemned the attack in the strongest terms. He referred to the assailant as a “scumbag” and expressed his unequivocal disapproval of such racially-driven violence. The governor highlighted the intolerable nature of targeting individuals based on their race.

This shocking event follows a spate of recent shootings across the United States, raising concerns about the accessibility of firearms and the prevalence of gun-related incidents. Notably, a mass shooting occurred at a Caribbean festival in Boston, resulting in several injuries. In a separate incident in Chicago, two women were shot during a baseball game, and in Oklahoma, a 16-year-old was fatally shot while four others sustained injuries after an altercation at a high school football game.

Tragically, this event also recalls the appalling shooting spree that took place in a New York supermarket in May 2022. In that case, a self-declared white supremacist took the lives of ten Black individuals in a livestreamed attack. The perpetrator, Payton Gendron, meticulously planned the act for months and specifically targeted the Tops Friendly Market in Buffalo due to the presence of a significant African American population in the vicinity. Gendron later pleaded guilty to the charges in November.

The Jacksonville incident serves as a stark reminder of the enduring challenge posed by hate-driven violence, prompting a renewed call for comprehensive measures to prevent such tragedies from recurring.