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Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shad Khan released a statement Sunday on the fatal shooting that shook the Jacksonville community over the weekend.
“The heartache I share with family and friends of the victims today is deepened knowing this tragedy in New Town will be remembered as an act of hatred against Black people of our community,” Khan said. “Some things in our lives are beyond our control, but we are able to determine how we treat, respect and love each other. Hatred cannot be a choice. No one should be a victim of hatred. No one should hate.”
On Saturday, a white gunman wearing a tactical vest and armed with an AR-15-style rifle and a Glock handgun stormed into a Jacksonville Dollar General store and opened fire. He killed three Black people before killing himself.
Authorities are investigating this as a hate crime. The rifle reportedly had swastika markings on it.
“This shooting was racially motivated, and he hated Black people,” Sheriff T.K. Waters said, per The New York Times.
Sheriff Waters said the gunman, identified as 21-year-old Ryan Christopher Palmeter, had written “several manifestos” that detailed a “disgusting ideology of hate.” One manifesto was sent to his parents, who alerted authorities but were too late.
The gunman had been spotted on the campus of Edward Waters University, a historically Black college about half a mile from the Dollar General. An on-campus security officer asked him to leave after he refused to identify himself. He got into his car and then “left campus without incident,” only to go to the Dollar General for his murderous rampage.
This is a tragic weekend in Jacksonville, and Shad Khan's words should be taken to heart. There's no place for this kind of disgusting hate in our world. Prayers go out to the victims (two males, one female) and their families.
