(Cupventi.com) – The identity of the individual responsible for a shooting described as “racially motivated” at a Dollar General store in Jacksonville, Florida, has been disclosed.
According to Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters, the tragic incident occurred on a Saturday afternoon, where Ryan Christopher Palmeter, 21 years old, took the lives of two men and one woman within a predominantly African American neighborhood. Palmeter then turned the weapon on himself at the scene.
Sheriff Waters revealed, “Ryan Christopher Palmeter resided with his parents in Orange Park, situated in Clay County, Florida. As far as our records indicate, he had no prior history of criminal activity or arrests.”
Palmeter was reported to have been equipped with a tactical vest and armed with both an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle and a Glock handgun at the time of the incident. Sheriff Waters detailed the events, noting that Palmeter first targeted Angela Carr, the initial victim, shooting at her through the window of her black Kia in the store’s parking lot.
Subsequently, Palmeter entered the store, unleashing gunfire upon the people inside.
The sheriff’s office made public a brief clip from surveillance footage, illustrating the suspect approaching the black Kia and pointing his rifle at it, along with another clip showing his entrance into the store while brandishing the rifle.
Sheriff Waters acknowledged that the Jacksonville community is struggling to comprehend the motives behind this heinous act, stating, “We should refrain from seeking rationality in an act of violence that defies reason. There is no justification or explanation that can ever justify the decisions and actions of the shooter.”
He continued, “His abhorrent beliefs do not reflect the values of the Jacksonville community that we all hold dear. We are a community founded on unity and compassion. We stand together with the good and honorable individuals of this city. We unequivocally reject this unjustifiable violence, and we are committed to pursuing this investigation tirelessly until every possible avenue of accountability has been explored.”
Sheriff Waters also revealed that the suspect had sent a text message to his father, instructing him to use a screwdriver to access his room. Inside, the father discovered a “last will and testament” as well as a suicide note on the suspect’s laptop.
Investigators had previously stated that the shooter had authored “multiple manifestos,” some of which contained passages describing the suspect’s “repugnant ideology of hatred.”
Additionally, it was noted that the shooter had a prior history of involvement in a domestic violence incident in 2016 and had been involuntarily committed for psychiatric evaluation at a mental hospital. Detailed information about these incidents was not provided.