Biden Asserts: ‘White Supremacy Holds No Place in the United States’
President Joe Biden has condemned the mass shooting in Jacksonville, Florida, where a white man shot and killed three Black people. The shooter left behind a suicide note, a will, and racist writings. The shooter purchased guns legally despite being involuntarily committed for a mental health examination in 2017. He used an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle and a Glock handgun in the shooting. The victims were identified as Angela Michelle Carr, A.J. Laguerre, and Jerrald Gallion. The shooter also texted his father during the shooting and told him to break into his room, where his father found the writings. The shooter killed himself after the attack. President Biden called for an end to white supremacy and expressed the need to live in a country where Black individuals do not fear gun violence based on the color of their skin. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis was booed at a vigil for the victims, and Jacksonville city councilwoman Ju’Coby Pittman called on the crowd to listen and put aside party differences. The pastor of a church near the shooting site urged congregants to avoid turning sadness into anger. Some elected officials and attendees at the church service blamed political rhetoric and policies for encouraging racist violence. The shooting in Jacksonville is one of many racist attacks in American history, including the Buffalo, New York, supermarket shooting in 2022 and the Charleston, South Carolina, church shooting in 2015.
