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Florida: A gunman killed three black people in a racially motivated attack then killed himself in Jacksonville, Florida, the city’s sheriff said.
The man, described as white and in his early 20s, entered a Dollar General store and opened fire, triggering a standoff with police.
Sheriff T K Waters said two men and a woman were killed by the gunman, who wore body armour and left manifestos.
Mayor Donna Deegan said it was a “hate-filled crime” driven by racist hatred.
“He hated Black people,” Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters told a news conference. “There is absolutely no evidence the shooter is part of any larger group.”
Mr. Waters said the shooter, who was in his 20s, used a Glock handgun and an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle with at least one of the firearms painted with a swastika. He was wearing a bullet-resistant vest.
The sheriff said the gunman had left behind writings that led investigators to believe that he committed the shooting because it was the fifth anniversary of when another gunman opened fire during a video game tournament in Jacksonville, killing two people before fatally shooting himself.
The shooting happened just before 2 p.m. at a Dollar General about three-quarters of a mile from Edward Waters University, a small historically Black university. Sheriff Waters said the suspect was seen on campus shortly before the shooting, putting on his vest and mask.
“I can’t tell you what his mindset was while he was there, but he did go there,” the sheriff said.
Edward Waters University students were being kept in their dorms, the school said in a statement. No students or faculty are believed involved, the school said.
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