Several victims were killed in a shooting in Jacksonville, Florida, on Saturday in what local officials are calling a “racially motivated” hate crime.
The assailant, a white male reportedly in his early 20s, killed at least three people at a Dollar General before taking his own life.
Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters said that the suspect specifically “targeted” black people during the tragedy.
“Able to speak with Sheriff T.K. Waters in Jacksonville about the horrific shooting that took place,” Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said in a video. “This shooting, based on the manifesto that they’ve discovered from the scumbag that did this, was racially motivated.”
The suspect reportedly wrote “several manifestos” and sent one to his parents and another to the media.
“He was targeting people based on their race — that is totally unacceptable,” DeSantis said. “This guy killed himself rather than face the music and accept responsibility for his actions.”
“He took the coward’s way out,” he said. “We condemn what happened in the strongest possible terms. We’ve offered support for Sheriff Waters in the city of Jacksonville, and we send our condolences to the victims and their families who were the victims of a very cowardly act.”
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DeSantis condemns the mass shooting in Jacksonville and calls the shooter a racist “scumbag” and coward.
pic.twitter.com/26WNpbNUto— Marina Medvin 🇺🇸 (@MarinaMedvin) August 26, 2023