‘Racially motivated’ shooting leaves three people dead in Florida, according to authorities

According to the local sheriff, a white gunman who was targeting black people opened fire at a dollar store in Jacksonville.

It was “racially motivated,” according to the police, to shoot three black people dead on Saturday in Jacksonville, Florida.

At a Dollar General store, the attacker started shooting around 2:00 p.m. local time. Sheriff T.K. Waters of Jacksonville informed reporters that the man was wearing a tactical gear and carrying a handgun and a “AR-style” rifle. The shooter committed suicide, he continued.

He disliked black people, and that’s why this shooting was racially motivated, according to Waters. The sheriff said that the suspect left messages for his parents, the press, and the police.

“He declared he intended to kill black people, and that was the group he chose to attack. And that’s quite obvious,” said Waters.

Other than the fact that the suspect was in his 20s, no information about his identification has yet been made public.

The event happened close to Edward Waters University, a historically black institution. Students who live on campus have been told to “stay in place” by the institution.

Mayor Donna Deegan of Jacksonville criticised the shooter. She reportedly told a local TV station that “one shooting is too much” but added that “these mass shootings are really hard to take.”

The gunman, according to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, was a “scumbag” who “took the coward’s way out” rather than take responsibility for his acts.

In a historically black church in Charleston, South Carolina, white supremacist Dylann Roof murdered nine people in 2015. Two years later, Roof was given the death penalty.