“This shooting was racially motivated and he hated Black people,” Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters said at a news conference. All three victims of the shooting were black, two men and one woman.
The shooting, which occurred around 1 p.m. was one of several mass-shooting events in America this weekend. The sheriff said the gunman, a White man in his 20s who has not yet been identified, left behind several manifestos.
The suspect reportedly told his father to check his computer before the act. The father found the manifestos, which were described by authorities as a "disgusting ideology of hate" and outlined his motives for the attack.
By the time he managed to alert authorities, the attack had already begun.
The shooting occurred near Edward Waters University, a historically Black University. University officials said the gunman was seen on campus shortly before the shooting but was turned away after refusing to identify himself.
He then reportedly went to a nearby Dollar General where he committed the shooting. At a press conference Waters showed pictures of the weapons used during the crime, including a handgun and an AR-15 rifle with a swastika painted on it. Investigators said he also wore a tactical vest and a mask. They believe he acted alone.
"We have opened a federal civil rights investigation, and we will pursue this incident as a hate crime," said Sherri Onks, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Jacksonville office.
Earlier on Saturday, a shooting at a parade in Boston, Massachusetts left at least seven injured.
There have been at least 470 mass shootings in the United States so far in 2023, according to the Gun Violence Archives.