In a racially motivated attack, a gunman killed three black people in Jacksonville, Florida. The shooter killed himself after he opened fire in a store. According to Sheriff T.K. Waters, two men and a woman were killed in the shooting.
The incident occurred at Dollar General store, as a white man in his 20s entered the store and opened fire, said Waters. No other injuries were reported from the crime spot.
According to Mayor Donna Deegan, it was a "hate-filled crime" driven by racist hatred, reported BBC.
During the press briefing Waters said that the shooter was armed with an AR-15-style rifle, a handgun and outfitted in a tactical vest when he shot three people.
Though the police has identified the shooter, his name was not officially released yet. Reportedly, he lived in Jacksonville's Clay County with his parents and "authored several manifestos," said Sheriff Waters.
It is believed that he acted alone and there was no evidence he was part of any group, he added.
At least one of the guns had a swastika drawn on it, said the officials.
The FBI has launched a civil rights investigation into the shooting, which it is treating as a hate crime.
Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan said "One shooting is too much but these mass shootings are really hard to take."
The shooting was described as "horrific" by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who is also Republican party's presidential candidate.
"He (gunman) was targeting people based on their race, that is totally unacceptable," DeSantis added.
United States President Joe Biden was briefed on the incident of shooting as well.
"This is a dark day in Jacksonville's history," said Waters.
Waters also said that before the incident it seems he had called his parents and texted his father.
"At 1:18 pm he texted his father and told his father to check his computer," Waters said. "At 1:53 pm the shooter's family members called the Clay County Sheriff's Office. By that time, he had already began shooting in Jacksonville,” said Waters.
