By: Leon Kwasi Kuntuo-Asare The white supremacist domestic terrorist who targeted and assassinated three black people at the Dollar General store in Jacksonville, Florida, this past Saturday was a 21-year-old man named, Ryan Christopher Palmeter. Palmeter, who was wearing a tactical vest, was armed with an AR-15 rifle and a handgun. According to Reuters: the suspect was caught on video […]
The white supremacist domestic terrorist who targeted and assassinated three black people at the Dollar General store in Jacksonville, Florida, this past Saturday was a 21-year-old man named, Ryan Christopher Palmeter.
Palmeter, who was wearing a tactical vest, was armed with an AR-15 rifle and a handgun. According to Reuters: the suspect was caught on video shooting Angela Michelle Carr, a 52-year-old woman, in her car outside the Dollar General (DG.N) , a U.S. discount chain.
He then entered the store where he shot and killed 19-year-old Anolt Joseph “AJ” Laguerre Jr and Jerrald De’Shaun Gallion, 29. He would later use his handgun to kill himself.
According to Sheriff T.K. Waters , says that the shooter left several manifestos behind for the media, where he detailed his hatred for black people. Palmeter, who lived with his parents in a suburb of Jacksonville, Florida, also left behind a will and a suicide note.
In a statement, the FBI said they will be investigating the targeted killings as a hate crime:
“The FBI Jacksonville Field Office is coordinating with the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida on the tragic shooting in Jacksonville, Florida. The FBI has opened a federal civil rights investigation and we will pursue this incident as a hate crime. The FBI will bring every resource to bear in this investigation. As this is an ongoing matter, we are not able to provide additional information at this time”.
