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Jacksonville authorities identified 21-year-old Ryan Palmeter as the man who gun downed three Black people at a Dollar General store on Saturday after he was turned away from the historically Black Edward Waters University (EWU) nearby.
Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters identified the victims of the shooting at 52-year-old Angela Carr, 19-year-old Anolt Joseph “AJ” Laguerre Jr., and 29-year-old Jerrald Gallion.
Waters said Palmeter wrote three manifestos prior to his shooting made his hatred of Black people clear, as CrimeOnline previously reported.
“Plainly put, this shooting was racially motivated and he hated Black people,” the sheriff said.
In a news conference on Sunday, Waters said Palmeter bought a handgun, a Glock 20, in April at Orange Park Gun and Pawn, followed by an AR-15-style rifle in June at Wild West Guns and Gold. Both guns were bought legally, he said.
“There was no flag that could have come up to stop him from purchasing those guns,” the sheriff said.
Palmeter lived with his parents in Orange Park, in Clay County, Waters said. On Saturday, the sheriff said he left his home shortly before noon and headed toward Jacksonville.
Timeline of the shooting
The suspect arrived at EWU at about 12:48 p.m. on Saturday, pulling into the parking lot behind the school’s library in gray Honda Element. A TikTok video without a timestamp shows him putting on tactical gear — a ballistic vest, latex gloves, a mask. Minutes after his arrival, an EWU security officer backs into the parking lot. The officer follows when Palmeter drives away at 12:58.
Waters said investigators had no information that Palmeter had planned to open fire on the campus, saying it appeared he stopped there just to change clothes.
“He had an opportunity to do violence at EWU. He did not,” the sheriff said. “There were people very close. He backed up and left.”
The security officer flagged down a Jacksonville Sheriff’s officer just after 1 p.m. and tells them about the suspicious man on campus. The officer was writing up a “be on the lookout” for the suspect when. ShotSpotter captured 11 gunshots nearby.
Those 11 rounds were fired into Carr’s black Kia parked in front of the Dollar General store, Waters said. Palmeter then enters the store and kills Laguerre, a store employee. He follows customers in the store as they flee toward the rear door, exiting the back door behind them. ShotSpotter detects one round. Palmeter returns to the store and unsuccessfully tries to shoot out a security camera.
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Dispatchers receive the first 911 call at about 1:10, Waters said. At 1:13, Palmeter shoots and kills Gallion, who has entered the store with his girlfriend. The gunman chases a witness through the store, shooting at her, but misses. She goes out another rear door, and Palmeter follows. ShotSpotter detects more rounds fired.
The shooter reenters the store and heads toward the office. At 1:18, he texts his father: “Use a screwdriver to get into my room.”
“The father enters the room and finds a last will and testament of the supect along with a suicide note on his laptop,” Waters said.
SWAT officers enter the store and begin clearing the aisles and other parts of the store when they hear a single gunshot, believed to be Palmeter killing himself.
Aftermath
“Our commumnity is grappling to understand why this atrocity occurred,” Waters said, urging people not to “look for sense” in the gunman’s “sickening acts.” “We reject this inexcusable violence.”
Waters said on Saturday that the gunman had written three manifestos — one to his parents, one to the media, and one to federal agents. While he did not provide any specifics about their content, he said the were, essentially, “the diary of a madman.” He pointed out that while Palmeter’s thought processes may not have made sense to most people, “he knew what he was doing. He was 100 percent lucid.”
Waters also pointed out that “not everyone who’s mentally ill will grab a firearm and kill people for no reason.” Palmeter had a reason — his hatred of Black people — even if it was “irrational.”
The FBI said on Saturday it had opened a civil rights investigation and was looking at the incident as a hate crime.
Waters said investigators would be pouring over the details of the shooting and the response to learn what could be done better, although he said that the SWAT teams was in the store 11 minutes after the first 911 call came through.
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[Featured image: Ryan Palmeter/Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office]
