The gunman who killed three people at Dollar General store in Jacksonville, Florida on Saturday in what authorities say was a racially motivated attack, was turned away at a historically Black university before the shooting.
The shooter first went to the campus of Edward Waters University, but he was asked to leave because he refused to identify himself to an on-campus security officer, CNN reported.
“The individual returned to their car and left campus without incident. The encounter was reported to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office by EWU security,” the university said in a statement.
The gunman, described by police as a white man in his 20s, then went to the nearby Dollar General store and fatally shot three people before killing himself.
All three victims – two men and a woman – were Black.
“This shooting was racially motivated, and he hated Black people,” Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters said.
Waters described the shooter’s weapons as a Glock and an “AR-15 style” rifle, with swastikas on it. The shooter also wrote “several manifestos” before the shooting detailing his hatred for Black people.
