Three black people shot dead in ‘racially motivated’ Florida attack

A white gunman who killed three people at a Dollar General store in Jacksonville, Florida, was “racially motivated”, police said.

“He hated black people,” Jacksonville sheriff TK Waters told a news conference. “There is absolutely no evidence the shooter is part of any larger group.”

Mr Waters said the gunman, who was in his 20s, used a Glock handgun and an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle with at least one of the firearms painted with a swastika. He killed himself following the attack.

He left behind writings that led investigators to believe that he committed the shooting because it was the fifth anniversary of when another gunman opened fire during a video game tournament in Jacksonville, killing two people before fatally shooting himself.

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The shooting happened just before 2pm local time at a Dollar General near Edward Waters University, a small historically black university. The gunman had driven there from neighbouring Clay County.

Shortly before the attack, the gunman had sent his father a text message telling him to check his computer. The father found writings and the family notified 911, but the shooting had already begun, Mr Waters said.

The deadly shooting took place within hours of the conclusion of a commemorative March on Washington in the nation’s capital, where organisers drew attention to the growing threat of hate-motivated violence against people of colour. – AP