JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Tuesday marks 2 years since the mass shooting at a Jacksonville Dollar General driven by one man’s racist beliefs.
Three people were killed after that gunman, dressed in tactical gear, opened fire at the store on Kings Road.
52-year-old Angela Michelle Carr, 29-year-old Jerrald De’Shawn Gallion, and 19-year-old Anolt ‘AJ’ Laguerre Jr. were shot and killed by 21-year-old Ryan Palmeter.
Palmeter ultimately took his own life.
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Over the weekend, city leaders, survivors, and loved ones of the victims came together for an annual memorial ceremony. This year, new memorials were unveiled, including tree plaques and a survivor bench.
We spoke with one survivor of the attack. She was the store manager that day — and described some of what she witnessed.
“I see the guy walking in the door, but he was dressed like SWAT, so we didn’t know what was going on until I seen him turn and shoot AJ,” the store manager said. AJ had been one of the store’s employees.
Adam Finkel is an attorney with the Haggard law firm; He is representing the estates of Laguerre and Gallion in a lawsuit against Dollar General. The suit claims that Dollar General failed to provide adequate security for its employees and/or customers. Dollar General filed a motion in 2024 to have the lawsuit dismissed, but the request was ultimately denied by the judge.
“The people there regularly had crime, had drug dealing, had violence, had gunshots. And there was no semblance of real security at the store,” said Finkel. “Dollar General could have prevented this and should have prevented this. They didn’t.”
We reached out to Dollar General to respond to these claims, but we are still waiting to hear back.
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