White supremacist kills three Black people, himself in Florida

Residents gather for a prayer near the scene of the shooting. Pic/AP

A masked white man fatally shot three Black people inside a Jacksonville, Florida, Dollar General store in a predominately African-American neighborhood on Saturday, in an attack where he used a gun painted with a swastika, officials said. The shooter, who had also posted racist writings, then killed himself.

Jacksonville Sheriff T K Waters told a news conference that the attack that left two men and one woman dead was definitely "racially motivated". "He hated Black people," Waters said after reviewing the man's writings, which were sent to federal law enforcement officials. He added that the gunman acted alone and "there is absolutely no evidence the shooter is part of any larger group".

Waters said the shooter, who was in his 20s, used a Glock handgun and an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle with at least one of them painted with a swastika. He was wearing a bullet-resistant vest. He said the shooter had once been involved in a 2016 domestic violence incident and was once involuntarily committed to a mental hospital for examination.

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