The gunman who shot to death three people in a Jacksonville, Florida, Dollar General store on Saturday and later killed himself left behind three manifestos, according to police.
Sheriff T.K. Waters said the manifestos revealed that the white shooter was driven by racism, according to WJXT-TV. The three victims — two males and one female — were black.
“This shooting was racially motivated, and he hated black people,” Waters said.
BREAKING: Several people are dead after a mass shooter barricaded themselves inside a Jacksonville, FL Dollar General store.
The shooter was seen putting on a ballistic vest before entering the store. pic.twitter.com/yvjG9Ba9Fd
— LifeandFortune (@LifeandFortune) August 26, 2023
The shooter, whose name had not been released as of Saturday evening, wore a tactical vest and used an AR-style rifle and handgun. The guns had swastikas drawn on them.
WJXT reported that the gunman was seen on the campus of nearby Edward Waters University shortly before the shooting.
Waters said the gunman wrote manifestos detailing “a disgusting ideology of hate” to his parents, the media and federal agencies.
“This was, quite frankly, a maniac who decided he wanted to take lives,” Waters said, according to NBC News. “He targeted