On Sunday, hundreds gathered at a vigil to mourn the three victims of a racially motivated shooting in Jacksonville, Florida.
The shooter took the lives of Angela Carr, 52, Anolt Laguerre Jr, 19, and Jerrald De'Shaun Gallion, 29, at a Dollar General Store in Jacksonville. Once police arrived on the scene, the gunman committed suicide.
Jacksonville Tragedy
Ms. Carr's son, Chayvaughn Payne, told The New York Times that his mother would "give her shirt off her back for people."
Sabrina Rozier, Mr. Gallion's mother-in-law, told CNN that his family is "holding up the best they can," and that they haven't told Mr. Gallion's 4-year-old daughter yet.
Police investigators uncovered alarming evidence of the shooter's "disgusting ideology," including manifestos delivered to the shooter's parents, the media, and federal law enforcement.
"Plainly put, this shooting was racially motivated, and he hated Black people," Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters said at a press conference Saturday afternoon.
The shooter was involved in a 2016 domestic call, and another in 2017 that resulted in temporary detention for mental health evaluation under Florida's Baker Act Law.
At a vigil for the victims, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis was booed by the crowd as he stepped to the microphone.
"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 NAACP's Florida State Conference issued a travel advisory for Florida earlier this year, strongly advising Black people to avoid visiting or moving to the state. Governor DeSantis also rejected the 'political agenda' of AP African American Studies, essentially blocking it from being taught at the state's public schools.
“I’m angry, I’m sad to realize we are in 2023 and as a Black person we are still hunted, because that’s what that was,” Florida State Sen. Tracie Davis, who represents the Jacksonville area, told CNN.
DeSantis signed legislation in June that allows Floridians to carry concealed guns without a permit. The bill also removed mandatory training and background check requirements, allowing for permit-less Floridians to carry guns.
"Every person in every community in America should have the freedom to live safe from gun violence," Vice President Kamala Harris' White House press statement reads. "Congress must help secure that freedom by banning assault weapons and passing other commonsense gun safety legislation."
