In todays day and age, it feels like there is a new shooting everyday, a sad reality that the United States is now facing. Just recently, there was a racially motivated shooting in Jacksonville, Florida. The shooter was identified as Ryan Palmeter – a 21 year old known racist through his writings he left on his desk before leaving to go to the store – killed himself right after killing three African American people in the local Dollar General (a discount retailer store). Palmeter has a history in the field of being a criminal as he had been involved in a 2016 domestic violence incident that although it did not lead to an arrest, he was committed for a 72-hour mental health examination the following year. The killer was armed with an AR-15-style rifle and a handgun (both bought legally) and just merely walked into the store. As he was in the store, Palmeter was targeting as many people as he could, open firing on many innocent civilians. Luckily, many people were able to escape through the back door, but unfortunately, there were still three victims.
The three victims were Angela Michelle Carr, 52, was shot in her car outside the Dollar General; store employee AJ Laguerre, 19, was shot as he tried to flee; while customer Jerrald Gallion, 29, was shot as he entered the store.
There is a mystery about this whole situation though. Right before going to the Dollar General, Palmeter visited to the local Edward Waters University, a predominantly black university in a predominantly black environment. However, he didn’t do anything at the university he just walked by and then got suited up in his car, preparing to attend Dollar General. This mystery makes it unclear what his motive was and what he was trying to accomplish.
Despite this mystery, it is still a tragedy for those three lives that were lost and the whole community that was impacted by this. This shooting also raises many questions that should be considered by the government. Considering the fact that this man has a history of being involved in crimes and a questionable mental health state, it is surprising how he was still able to legally buy a gun. With this background, you would think he wouldn’t be able to buy one. The standards to buy a gun should be raised as many negative implications can rise from people buying guns. Background checks could be an effective way to do this as storeowners can recognize if a person could be a threat to society or not.
Ayan Kumar's Blog 