A Neo-Nazi who killed three black people at a Dollar General store in Jacksonville ‘snapped’ after he stopped taking his medication days before the massacre, a neighbor has claimed.
Ryan Palmeter, 21, walked into the Florida store on Saturday armed with two weapons, including an AR-15-style rifle adorned with swastikas and opened fire in what police are calling a hate crime.
Those who knew the killer have started sharing details about his life. One neighbor, identified only as Greg, said he never met the killer but knows his parents well and speculated that Palmeter was recently taken off his medication.
‘From what I understand, he was on medication and for some reason, he got off of it probably a few days or a couple of days ahead of that. That’s probably when he snapped,’ Greg told News4Jax.
Greg added that Palmater’s parents are ‘the type of people that help anybody, anytime, anywhere.’
Ryan Palmeter, 21, killed three black people at a Dollar General in Jacksonville on Saturday
Terrifying footage captured the racist entering the Jacksonville Dollar General before he shot dead the three victims and then turned the gun on himself
Police say the murders were motivated by race. The killer left a long manifesto behind
Andres Sanchez, a former class mate and neighbor, told the outlet that Palmeter was ‘involved in internet humor,’ and a, socially awkward introvert ‘obsessed with video games.’
The victims have been identified as Angela Michelle Carr, 52, Anolt Joseph “A.J.” Laguerre Jr., 29, and Jerrald De’Shaun Gallion, 19.
Terrifying footage captured the racist entering the Jacksonville Dollar General before he shot dead the three victims and then turned the gun on himself.
Palmeter left a detailed manifesto behind, which police have called the ‘diary of a madman.’
Sheriff T.K. Waters said the gunman ‘hated black people’ and ‘wanted to kill ‘n******’.’ He described the shooting as a ‘dark day in Jacksonville’s history’.
Both the rifle and handgun were legal and had been purchased legally, Waters said. The firearms dealers ― Wild West Guns and Orange Park Gun and Pawn — followed proper procedures in the sales, he added.
Walters said a federal civil rights investigation has been launched, and officials are treating the shooting as a possible hate crime and act of domestic violent extremism.
Palmeter left his home at 11:39am for Jacksonville and texted his father to check his computer.
His horrified parents then called the sheriff’s office at 1.53pm to report the manifesto they found, but he had already begun his assault.
Angela Carr, 52 (right) was among the three victims shot dead at the Dollar General in Jacksonville, Florida, on Saturday
Shooting victim Jerrald De’Shaun Gallion, 29, is shown holding his baby daughter in a photo from his Facebook page
Palmeter used an assault rifle covered in Nazi swastikas in the assault on Saturday before turning the gun on himself, according to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office
Palmeter was seen putting on tactical gear at the nearby Edward Waters University (EWU) campus moments before the shooting.
Security at the historically black college tried to detain him but he managed to evade them.
Palmeter was reportedly involved in a 2016 domestic call with no arrest and was held under the state’s Baker Act in 2017 which allows people to be involuntarily detained and subject to an examination for up to 72 hours in a mental health hospital.
Deputies from Clay County Sheriff’s Office and Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office were outside Palmeter’s home after the attack.
Patty Grisby, who is black, was shocked to find out he lived just a few doors down from her and said her children often played outside in the area.
‘I mean they ride their bikes. They play outside. I mean, it’s just really scary,’ she told Fox 30.
The Governor was called out by local councilmembers before taking to the mic himself and being met with overwhelming negativity – as one heckler shouted: ‘Your policies caused this!’
‘I mean I really have goosebumps just thinking about… It’s right here in our neighborhood. A quiet little street.’
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis described the shooter as ‘scumbag’ and called him a ‘coward’ for taking his own life.
He said: ‘This shooting [was] based on the manifesto that they discovered from the scumbag who did this was racially motivated.
‘He was targeting people based on their race. That is totally unacceptable. This guy killed himself rather than face the music and accept responsibility for his actions.
‘He took coward’s way out. We condemn what happened in the strongest possible terms.
‘We send our condolences to the victims and their families.’
The governor was savagely booed off the podium at a vigil he attended for the three victims.
He was called out by local councilmembers before taking to the mic himself and was met with overwhelming negativity from the crowd – as one heckler shouted: ‘Your policies caused this!’
Source: | This article originally belongs to Dailymail.co.uk
