Manifesto of racist Jacksonville Dollar General shooter released

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — 146 days after a racist gunman shot and killed three Black people at a Dollar General in Jacksonville’s New Town area, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office released the shooter’s manifesto.

19-year-old A.J. Laguerre Jr., 52-year-old Angela Carr and 29-year-old Jerrald Gallion were killed at the store located at 2161 Kings Rd. on Aug. 26, 2023. Sheriff T.K. Waters described the tragedy as a ‘dark day in Jacksonville’s history.’

Prayer vigils, lawsuits and a strong outcry for changed legislation immediately followed, as the city of Jacksonville became a national spotlight.

John M. Phillips, the attorney for the family of Carr, released the following statement after JSO released the shooter’s manifesto Friday:

“As victim’s rights attorneys, our job is to fight injustice wherever we see it. Some cases are much harder than others. Some are terrifying. Today, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office is going to release horrifying information about Ryan Palmeter’s murderous rampage on Dollar General on August 26, 2023.

As soon as we were hired by the family of Angela Carr, we insisted on this information being provided to us. Under Florida’s public records laws, that means it will be provided to the public. We caution you to not give Palmeter the satisfaction of publishing or distributing his “manifesto.” It’s written to give his racist views attention, but also exposes the hate which exists which we all must fight. It is disgusting and utterly offensive and contains not one redeemable thought. In fact, it’s dangerous.

There are people and businesses out there who gain from hate, separatism and violence. This deranged letter provides those people and entities fuel. As Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”

We will be filing a meritorious and well pledging lawsuit in the coming weeks and continue to fight injustice for the Carr family.

Please keep them in your prayers. If you want to help with their burdens, you can donate at https://www.gofundme.com/f/fvc6uv-angela-michelle-carr.”

Waters also released a statement after the manifesto was released, which can be read below:

“Today, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office publicly releases the manifesto of the murderer who senselessly took the lives of three members of our community last summer. On the day that this tragedy occurred, I promised the public that our agency would release this manifesto when doing so would not compromise the integrity of the investigation. Now that this investigation is complete, the manifesto’s release poses no potential investigative hindrance. Transparency is at the heart of this administration’s core values. By releasing this manifesto, we remain consistent with our commitment to transparency. Members of the public deserve to determine, firsthand, that this manifesto is filled with the rantings of an isolated, hateful, madman, whose disgusting ideology is wholly inconsistent with the belief structure of the Jacksonville community. As our city heals from this tragedy, let us continue to stand united.”

The sheriff’s office released the manifesto on its “Trending Topics” section of its Public Records Center.

Dollar General reopening

A week ago on Jan. 12, the same Dollar General where the senseless act of violence took place, reopened, causing neighbors to have mixed reactions. Some told First Coast News they will never step foot inside again, but others are happy because they say there aren’t many other stores around where they can get what they need.

Gary Nichols has lived in the New Town community for 40 years. He’s right around the corner from the store where Laguerre Jr., Carr and Gallion lost their lives.

Nichols remembers it sounded like a war zone on Aug. 26, 2023, but said he was ready for the store to re-open.

“I feel like it should open because we don’t have anything in the neighborhood,” Nichols told First Coast News last week. “Like I said before, Burger King is closed, Subway is closed. We have to go a block or two blocks to get anything from a dollar store.”

One woman who didn’t want to be identified, said last week that since the store’s been closed, the community has had few options to buy food and necessities.

“I feel a way about it because A.J. was such a sweet person, but at the end of the day, the neighborhood does need a store, so I’m not going in there,” she said. “But, I know other people in the neighborhood are going there because there’s no other store in the neighborhood.”

She said she’d be happier if it had been torn down and replaced with something new.

From the families of the victims perspective, Adam Finkel with the Haggard Law Firm said the reopening is horrible news for these families. Finkel said Dollar General didn’t tell them about it and hasn’t reached out at all since the shooting happened nearly five months ago.

Additionally, Finkel told First Coast News the company hasn’t taken steps to add security measures for customers and employees.

“This Dollar General was not maintained in any way, shape or form the way it should have been,” Finkel said. “And all they’ve really done here is they gutted the store in order to clean up the blood, and after gutting the store to clean up the blood, now what they’re doing is putting a fresh coat of paint on there, but they haven’t changed anything.”

The families are suing the company for not having a security guard on site. They believe that would have deterred the shooter from Orange Park, Fla.

Finkel said the families are aware of the store’s presence and what it represents.

“They should have come home that day from the store, and they didn’t because of this company’s negligence,” Finkel said. “This company Dollar General knew that this store needed to be secured and knew it was dangerous, and they did nothing about it.”