Jacksonville shooter killed Black shoppers with legally purchased guns
By Sarah N. Lynch and Maria Caspani
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The white gunman who shot and killed three Black people at a Dollar General (NYSE:DG) store in Jacksonville, Florida, was a 21-year-old who bought his guns legally and had no criminal history, local law enforcement said on Sunday.
The shooter, Ryan Christopher Palmeter, lived with his parents in a suburb of Jacksonville, Sheriff T.K. Waters (NYSE:WAT) told a press conference. He died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Authorities have described the shooting as racially motivated, saying the man had authored «several manifestos» for media, his parents and law enforcement detailing his hatred for Black people.
«There was no criminal record, nothing,» Waters said, adding that the only thing on file was a domestic violence call with his brother. «There were no red flags.»
However, the sheriff said Palmeter in 2017 was briefly held under a state law called the Baker Act, which states a person can be «taken to a receiving facility for involuntary examination» during a mental health crisis.
Reuters could not immediately reach members of the gunman's family for comment.
The gunman also left a will and a suicide note that were retrieved by his father, the Jacksonville sheriff said.
President Joe Biden in a statement on Sunday noted the shooting occurred the same day the country marked the 60th Anniversary of the March on Washington, scene of Martin Luther King Jr's famous «I have a dream» speech.
«We must refuse to live in a country where Black families going to the store or Black students going to school live in fear of being gunned down because of the color of their skin,» Biden said.
The Justice Department is investigating the shooting as a hate crime and an «act of
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