Jacksonville Shooting: Gunman in Racist Attack Identified, Firearms Source Revealed

A 21-year-old white man opened fire at a Dollar General store in Jacksonville, Florida on Saturday and specifically targeted African Americans. However, it turns out that he bought his guns legally, making calls for gun control even louder.

The racist Florida gunman has been identified as 21-year-old Ryan Christopher Palmeter. According to CNN, he legally bought a handgun in April before buying an AR-15-style rifle in June. He used both in his racially motivated mass shooting attack.

Palmeter reportedly had no criminal arrest history and had been living with his parents in Orange Park, Florida. Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters said in a news conference Sunday, "In this situation, there was nothing illegal about him owning the firearms."

It became known that the attack was racially motivated because Palmeter was spouting racial slurs as he shot up the Jacksonville Dollar Store General, killing three people. Authorities called the shooting as an anti-Black hate crime; and to make it even more obvious, the gunman left behind a racist screed and drew swastikas on his firearm.

After his shooting spree, the gunman is believed to have shot and killed himself. It was later revealed that the gunman acted alone and texted his father before doing his heinous deed. His father then found a will and a suicide note.

"This is a dark day in Jacksonville's history," said Sheriff Waters. "Any loss of life is tragic, but the hate that motivated the shooter's killing spree adds an additional layer of heartbreak."

Jacksonville Shooting Victims Identified

According to CBS News, the three victims that were killed in the racially-motivated attacks were 52-year-old Angela Carr, 29-year-old Jerrald De'Shaun Gallion, and 19-year-old Anolt Laguerre Jr. All three were African-Americans and were specifically targeted because of the color of their skin.

The gunman, Palmeter, first fired 11 rounds into a car, killing Carr before entering the store and killing Laguerre. He then exited the store but returned to kill Gallion. A few minutes later, another gunshot was heard, with police confirming that the gunman killed himself with that final shot.

Jacksonville residents soon gathered near the scene where the mass shooting took place and offered a prayer for all the victims. The sheriff called the shooter a "madman" and added that "there was no logic to his violent actions."

President Joe Biden, Attorney General Merrick Garland React to Jacksonville Shooting

Attorney General Merrick Garland said the Justice Department has now opened an investigation into the shooting and find out whether it can be regarded as a hate crime and an act of racially motivated violent extremism.

President Joe Biden also reacted to the attack, saying, "Yesterday in Jacksonville, Florida a white gunman went on a shooting rampage at a store near a Historically Black University and killed three Black individuals. While we still need to learn more about the motivation for Saturday's shooting, law enforcement has opened a federal civil rights investigation and is treating this incident as a possible hate crime and act of domestic violent extremism."

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

WATCH:Three black people shot and killed in Jacksonville, Florida, hate crime attack - CBS Chicago