Hundreds of people gathered Sunday to remember and mourn the three black men who were shot and killed in a racist attack in Jacksonville, Florida.
The suspect, a 21-year-old white male wearing a tactical vest and carrying both an “AR-style” rifle and a pistol emblazoned with swastikas, opened fire at a Dollar General store in a black ghetto, according to authorities . Two men and a woman were killed near Xincheng on Saturday. Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters identified the victims as Angela Michelle Carr, 52; Ajla Gale, 19; and Gerald Gallion, 29.
“This is a community that has suffered time and time again. We come here often,” Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan said Saturday. “This kind of thing should not and cannot continue to happen in our community. “
The Justice Department announced Sunday that it is investigating the shooting as a hate crime. Customer Jarrald De’Shawn Gallion was shot as he entered the store. During Sunday night’s prayer vigil, family and community members remembered Galion as a devoted father who planned to spend the weekend with his four-year-old daughter.
Garion’s family remembers his sense of humor and work ethic, and he saw his job as restaurant manager as a way to support them.
“My brother didn’t deserve to lose his life,” his sister, Latifani Gallion, said Sunday. “One day, we walk into the store and it’s taken away from us forever.”
The child’s grandmother, Sabrina Rozier, said Galion “didn’t miss a single moment” and was due to see his daughter on Saturday.
Bishop John Gance said Galion attended St. Paul’s Missionary Baptist Church in Jacksonville.
“In two weeks, I have to give a funeral for someone who should be alive,” Gun said to the crowd. “He’s not a gangster, he’s not a criminal – he’s a father who gave his life to Jesus and tried to fix it.”
