Jacksonville hears calls to reject racism, pleas for tolerance as investigation continues: recap

Authorities identified the three victims and the shooter one day after an assault on a Dollar General store in Florida.

On August 28, 2023

A vigil for victims of Saturday’s attack, which authorities say was racist, attracted widespread attention as Florida’s governor spoke before a crowd that initially booed him.

Gov. Ron DeSantis ultimately found a listening audience and said Jacksonville, Florida’s most-populous city, and the state itself, would not tolerate racial violence. He vowed to help local leaders with security and recovery, but the appearance may have foreshadowed the injection of politics in the discussion about why a 21-year-old fatally shot three Black Americans he apparently never met at a Dollar General store.

On Sunday, Florida state Rep. Angie Nixon, D-Jacksonville, lambasted DeSantis on MSNBC, suggesting he was insincere in his concern about racism-motivated violence.

What we know about the Jacksonville Dollar General shooting

• As Jacksonville mourned its dead in churches and in vigils, calls to reject racism and hate dominated.
• Mayor Donna Deegan also called for “commonsense gun legislation” to try to prevent future attacks.
• President Joe Biden condemned the shooting and said a federal civil rights investigation was treating it “as a possible hate crime and act of domestic violent extremism.”
• Florida Gov. Ro DeSantis was initially booed when he tried to speak at an evening vigil. After an organizer quieted the crowd, DeSantis said, “We are not going to let people be targeted based on their race.”

The victims in Saturday’s shooting were identified by the Jacksonville County Sheriff’s Office on Sunday as Angela Michelle Carr, 52; Anolt Joseph “AJ” Laguerre Jr., 19; and Jarrald De’Shaun Gallion, 29.

Family members, including Anolt Laguerre, father of Dollar General cashier Anolt Joseph “AJ” Laguerre Jr., expressed their unspeakable anguish on Sunday. Laguerre said his son recently graduated from high school and was working as a cashier at the Dollar General store where the shooting took place.

“He hasn’t even lived his life yet,” the father said.

This piece was republished from NBC News.