Investigators have released the bigoted, hate-filled, ranting manifesto left by a 21-year-old gunman who killed three Black people in a racially motivated attack at a Northwest Jacksonville Dollar General last year.
AJ Laguerre Jr., 19, Angela Carr, 52, and Jerrald Gallion, 29, were shot and killed in August. The gunman, who News4JAX is not naming out of respect for the victims, took his own life.
Investigators knew from the day of the shooting that the deadly attack was racially motivated.
Now that the case is closed, Sheriff T.K. Waters said he wants the public to be able to see that for themselves.
“By releasing this manifesto, we remain consistent with our commitment to transparency,” Waters said in a statement. “Members of the public deserve to determine, firsthand, that this manifesto is filled with the rantings of an isolated, hateful, madman, whose disgusting ideology is wholly inconsistent with the belief structure of the Jacksonville community. As our city heals from this tragedy, let us continue to stand united.”
Much of the 27-page manifesto includes words we cannot or will not repeat, but in it, the shooter expresses his hate for all minority groups, saying they are the “symptoms” of “advanced societal decay” among Western nations. He also espouses political conspiracy theories and claims to be part of a movement to kill all Black people.
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He said his actions would be considered those of a “lone-wolf.”
“However, one can only be a “lone-wolf” if no other wolves follow behind them,” he wrote. “To all who see the clear and present havoc let loose upon Western society and values, consider this your call to arms.”
For those who wish to read the entire, explicit manifesto for themselves, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office has provided a link to the full document on its website.
Attorney John M. Phillips, who represents Carr’s family, released a statement about the release of the manifesto:
“As soon as we were hired by the family of Angela Carr, we insisted on this information being provided to us. Under Florida’s public records laws, that means it will be provided to the public,” Phillips said. “It’s written to give his racist views attention, but also exposes the hate which exists which we all must fight. It is disgusting and utterly offensive and contains not one redeemable thought. In fact, it’s dangerous.
There are people and businesses out there who gain from hate, separatism and violence. This deranged letter provides those people and entities fuel. As Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”
Deadly attack
The gunman attempted to enter another store and the campus of Edward Waters University, a historically Black college, but he was stopped by the presence of security guards at both places, authorities said.
Then he went to the Dollar General in a predominantly Black Jacksonville neighborhood.
When the shooter arrived at the store, Gallion was shopping, Laguerre was working, and Carr was waiting in a car in the parking lot for a customer she had brought there.
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“I’m so tired of hearing, ‘Oh, you know he’s in a better place.’ No, I want him here,” said Quantavious Laguerre, tears streaming down his face as he talked about his brother. “People say, ‘Cherish the memories that you have.’ No, I want to make more memories. He is my baby brother.”
The shooter killed himself at the scene, leaving behind the racist manifesto.
Investigators have said all along that the shooter’s writings made clear that he hated Black people. During the attack, he texted his father and told him to break into his room and check his computer. There, the father found a note and the writings. The family notified authorities, but by then the shooting had already begun, detectives said.
The shooter used two guns in the attack, a Glock handgun and an AR-15-style rifle, according to authorities.
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