A gunman pushed by racial hate shot and killed three Black folks in Jacksonville, Florida earlier than fatally turning the gun on himself, authorities stated.
The gunman left behind manifestos earlier than he opened fireplace on the selection retailer on Saturday, native time, and barricaded himself inside, sparking a stand-off with police.
At least three victims died — two males and a girl — together with the gunman, who was white and aged in his early 20s.
“He targeted a certain group of people and that’s Black people. That’s what he said he wanted to kill. And that’s very clear,” Jacksonville Sheriff TK Waters stated of the gunman.
“This shooting was racially motivated and he hated Black people,” the sheriff added.
Manifestos left by the gunman “detail the shooter’s disgusting ideology of hate”, he stated.
The FBI stated the incident can be investigated as a hate crime.
The shooter’s dad and mom reached out to the Clay County Sheriff’s Office after discovering the manifesto, based on native broadcaster WJTX.
Mayor Donna Deegan, who was on the scene, confirmed earlier that there have been “a number of fatalities” following the taking pictures at a retailer known as Dollar General, the New York Post reported. She advised broadcaster News4Jax a person had barricaded himself inside the shop.
City council member Ju’Coby Pittman advised news shops the shooter was lifeless.
“My heart is heavy. I am tired of all of the shootings,” she stated.
Prior to the taking pictures, a person believed to be the gunman had been noticed on the close by campus of Edward Waters University (EWU), a small traditionally Black college. The man was seen placing on a ballistics vest behind the college’s library, WJXT reported.
Campus safety was known as and unsuccessfully tried to catch the person.
Action News Jax cited sources that stated the gunman was carrying a tactical vest, masks and gloves.
EWU college students had been being stored of their residence halls till the scene was cleared. No college students or school had been believed to be concerned within the taking pictures, college officers stated.
A witness advised News4Jax the shooter fired at some vehicles.
SWAT group members had been reportedly seen earlier within the day exterior of the Dollar General participating in a possible standoff with an armed suspect.
Crews from the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department and the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office had been additionally on the scene.
“This is unacceptable,” Ms Deegan, the mayor, stated. “One shooting is too much but these mass shootings are really hard to take.”
Saturday’s taking pictures occurred 5 years to the day when a gunman killed two folks and injured 11 others at a online game match in Jacksonville earlier than turning the gun on himself.
It additionally comes amid a spate of current shootings within the US.
Earlier within the day no less than seven folks had been hospitalised after a mass taking pictures at a Caribbean competition within the northeast metropolis of Boston.
Meanwhile, two girls had been shot at a baseball sport in Chicago the night time earlier than, authorities within the Midwestern metropolis stated.
And a 16-year-old was shot lifeless and 4 others injured after an argument erupted at a highschool soccer sport in Oklahoma, native police stated.
Mass shootings have grow to be disturbingly widespread throughout the US, with easy accessibility to firearms in most states and extra weapons within the nation than residents, AFP studies.
A model of this text initially appeared on the New York Post and was reproduced with permission
Source: www.news.com.au
