The white gunman who shot and killed three black people Saturday at a Dollar General store in Jacksonville, Florida, was a 21-year-old who bought his guns legally and had no criminal history, local law enforcement said Sunday. .
Sheriff TK Waters told a news conference that the shooter, Ryan Christopher Palmeter, lived with his parents in a suburb of Jacksonville. He died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Waters has said that the firing was racially motivated. Authorities say the assailant left several manifestos detailing his hatred of black people for the media, his parents and law enforcement.
“There was no criminal record, nothing,” Waters said, adding that the only thing on file was a domestic violence call with her brother. “There were no red flags.”
However, the sheriff said Palmeters was briefly held in 2017 under a state law called the Baker Act, which states that a person during a mental health crisis can be taken “to an involuntary checkup facility.” “.
Reuters could not immediately contact family members of the gunman for comment.