Three dead in Florida shooting driven by ‘racial hatred’

US authorities announced that an assailant motivated by racial hatred opened fire, killing three black individuals in Jacksonville, Florida, on Saturday before taking his own life following a confrontation with the police. 

Sheriff T.K. Waters stated that the shooter, a white man in his early twenties who remains unidentified, was wearing a tactical vest and armed with an "AR" rifle and a handgun when he began firing inside a Dollar General store. 

He added, "He targeted a specific group of people, and they were black. Those were the ones he said he wanted to kill. And that is very clear," indicating that the three victims were two men and a woman. 

Waters mentioned in a press conference that messages found by the assailant's family just before the attack "elaborate on his repulsive hate ideology." He pointed out that one of the gunmen had hand-drawn swastikas on him. He said, "We know that he acted entirely alone." 

The shooting occurred near Edward Waters University, historically attended by black students in this southern American state. 

The university stated in a release that a campus security officer had observed an "unknown" man near the university library "and asked him to leave." This man - later identified as the shooter - left the campus "without any incident." 

The Federal Bureau of Investigation will investigate the shooting as a hate crime, according to Sherri Onks, special agent in charge of the Jacksonville FBI office. 

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis condemned the "horrific" shooting, describing the assailant as "scum." DeSantis, seeking the Republican nomination for the 2024 presidential race, said, "He was targeting people based on their race, and that is simply not acceptable." 

He added, "This individual took his own life rather than face his punishment and be accountable for his actions, so he took the coward's way out." 

This shooting is the latest in a series of armed violence incidents during the weekend in the United States. 

The White House stated that President Joe Biden received a briefing on the events that occurred in Jacksonville and other shooting incidents that took place within 24 hours. 

Mass shootings have become alarmingly common across the United States, as firearms are easily accessible in most states, and their prevalence among citizens is increasing. 

Earlier on the same day, at least seven people were taken to the hospital after a mass shooting during a Caribbean festival in Boston in the northeastern part of the country, according to the police. 

Two women were shot and killed during a baseball game in Chicago the previous night. 

On the same night, a 16-year-old boy was shot and killed, and four others were injured in a fight during a high school football game in Oklahoma, according to local police. 

AFP