Ryan Christopher Palmeter id as Jacksonville Dollar General shooter who specifically targeted blacks in Florida mass shooting. Left behind manifesto documenting hate for blacks.
A 21 year old ‘white’ Florida male has been identified as the gunman who over the weekend stormed into a Jacksonville Dollar General store armed with an AR-15 who had specifically sought to kill black victims in a racially motivated attack.
Ryan Christopher Palmeter, 21, of nearby Oakleaf was identified as the gunman, police announced on Sunday. They also detailed 3 manifestos (one for his family, police and the media) hat he left behind, detailing ‘he hated black people’ which police described as the ‘diary of a madman.’
Palmeter used an assault rifle covered in Nazi swastikas in the deadly assault on Saturday before turning the gun on himself, according to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office.
Possible hate crime and act of domestic violent extremism
Sunday’s press conference identified the victims as; 52-year-old Angela Michelle Carr, 19-year-old Anolt Joseph ‘A.J.’ Laguerre Jr. and 29-year-old Jarrald De’Shawn Gallion.
Sheriff T.K. Waters said the gunman ‘hated black people’ and ‘wanted to kill ‘n******’.’ He described the shooting as a ‘dark day in Jacksonville’s history’.
Both the rifle and handgun were legal and had been purchased legally, Waters said. The firearms dealers ― Wild West Guns and Orange Park Gun and Pawn — followed proper procedures in the sales, he stated.
A federal civil rights investigation has been launched, and officials are treating the shooting as a possible hate crime and act of domestic violent extremism.
Jacksonville Sheriff identifies Saturday’s General Dollar shooter as Ryan Palmeter, 21. Video shows him with AR-15, handgun, ballistics vest, gloves, mask. Shot woman in car in parking lot, then 2 men inside store. Sheriff calls manifesto “diary of a madman.” @wjxt4 pic.twitter.com/UsSbG2GV44
— Vic Micolucci WJXT (@WJXTvic) August 27, 2023
Shooter was detained in 2016 and subjected to mental evaluation
On the day of the shooting, Palmer had left his home at 11:39am, bound for Jacksonville and texted his father to check his computer.
The man’s parents then called the sheriff’s office at 1.53pm to report the manifesto they found. By then Palmer had already begun his deadly assault.
He was reportedly involved in a 2016 domestic call with no arrest and was held under the state’s Baker Act in 2017 which allows people to be involuntarily detained and subject to an examination for up to 72 hours in a mental health hospital.
Of note, Florida voter registration records list Palmeter as a Republican. The record says he registered to vote in 2017; it comes up under Ryan Christopher Palmeter, of Orange Park, whose date of birth is the same as the DOB given for the Dollar General gunman by the sheriff.
Ryan Palmeter manifesto documented hate for blacks
Reports told of Palmer living in Clay County with his parents and sending a manifesto detailing his racial hatred to the police and media prior to Saturday’s attack.
Sheriff T.K. Waters stated the manifestos outlined the suspect’s ‘disgusting ideology of hate,’ and made it clear that he was specifically targeting Black people. ‘He wanted to kill n******,’ the sheriff said, using a racial slur.
On Twitter, Ryan Palmeter described himself as: ‘Oakleaf High School attendee, 3.5 GPA, certified in Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator CS6 and Adobe InDesign, drinks too many Arizona products.’
Leading up to the Jacksonville Dollar General shooting, Palmeter was seen putting on tactical gear at the nearby Edward Waters University (EWU) campus moments before the shooting.
Security at the historically black college tried to detain him but he managed to evade them.
The suspect’s parents called the Sheriff’s Office after they found a concerning manifesto which contained a ‘disgusting ideology of hate.’
‘This shooting was racially motivated, and he hated black people,’ Sheriff T.K. Waters, who is black, said at a news conference.
‘He wanted to kill ‘n******’.’
He added that the gunman was in his 20s armed with an assault rifle and a handgun and ‘there is absolutely no evidence that the shooter is part of any larger group’ despite using an assault rifle covered in Nazi swastikas.
Palmeter after having fatally shot his victims shot himself dead before being caught by authorities.
Deputies from Clay County Sheriff’s Office and Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office were outside Palmeter’s home after the attack.
Identities of Jacksonville Dollar General shooting released
Sabina Escalada, who lives across the street from Palmeter’s home, said she did not know him well but had a good relationship with his parents.
Speaking to Fox 30 the neighbor said: ‘Just on the outside, he seemed like the typical teenager, you know like, didn’t seem very happy sometimes. Or just wanted to keep to himself.
‘It’s hard thinking about your own child doing something like that and you feel for the family.’
Dollar General released a statement Saturday evening following the shooting.
It said: ‘We are heartbroken by the senseless act of violence that occurred at our Kings Road store in Jacksonville, Florida today.
‘At this time, supporting our Jacksonville employees and the DG family impacted by this tragedy is a top priority as we work closely with law enforcement.’
The Jacksonville Police Department to date has not released the alleged manifesto of Ryan Palmeter, as a nation is once again forced to reckon with ongoing mass shootings and its history of hate and racism towards the black community.
