Who were the victims in the Dollar General store shooting in Jacksonville? What we know

Three people were killed when a gunman opened fire at a Northwest Jacksonville Dollar General store on Saturday.

The victims, all Black, appeared to be targeted in a racially motivated shooting by a 21-year-old white Clay County man, identified by Jacksonville police as Ryan Christopher Palmeter, who left multiple manifestos, declaring his hate for the Black race and his intentions to kill Black people.

The U.S. Department of Justice announced Sunday that it is investigating the shooting as a hate crime.

The three victims identified by police who were killed in the shooting are:

Angela Michelle Carr, 52

Angela Michelle Carr, the first person the gunman killed, was sitting inside her black Kia sedan in the store’s parking lot, Waters said, showing footage preceding the shooting.

Carr worked as an Uber driver, company spokesperson Sarah Casasnovas confirmed to USA TODAY. Carr had completed her last trip more than an hour before the shooting and had logged off the app.

Her son Chayvaughn Payne told The New York Times Carr had dropped off a friend at the store moments before she was killed. Payne said Carr was someone who would invite people to cookouts and other family events.

"She would give her shirt off her back for people," Payne told the Times. "This is really hard to process. To lose a mother for nothing."

Carr’s cousin Kawana Staffney-Ashe told Keys Weekly that Carr was originally from Key West but left years ago. “She never bothered anybody,” Staffney-Ashe said. “She didn’t deserve this, just because of the color of her skin.”

Carr is survived by her son Payne, two daughters and 14 grandchildren, Payne told USA TODAY. Daughter Ashley Thomas and Chayvaughn and Armisha Payne set up a Gofundme.

Anolt Joseph "A.J." Laguerre Jr., 19

Anolt Joseph "A.J." Laguerre Jr., a store employee, was shot as he tried to flee when the gunman entered the Dollar General.

He was the youngest of five siblings, all raised by their grandmother after their mother died in 2009, his brother Quantavious Laguerre, who also set up a Gofundme, told The Associated Press. The family celebrated in 2022 when A.J., like his older siblings before him, graduated from high school. As he looked into going to college to study cybersecurity, he got a job at the Dollar General store several months ago to help their grandmother pay the bills.

When he was off the clock, A.J. played Fortnite and other videogames on the live-streaming platform Twitch, his brother said, using the gamer tag galaxysoul. His goal was to build a large online following.

“He had dreams and aspirations of being a professional streamer,” Laguerre told AP. “So after he would get off work, he’d just stay up until 3 or 4 in the morning just grinding, you know, trying to get that stance and have followers.”

In a statement, Dollar General said, "The DG family mourns the loss of our colleague Anolt Joseph 'AJ' Laguerre Jr., who, along with two of our customers, were the victims of senseless violence yesterday. We extend our deepest sympathies to their families and friends as we all try to comprehend this tragedy."

Jerrald De'Shaun Gallion, 29

Jarrald De'Shawn Gallion, a customer, was the last person fatally shot. He entered the store with his girlfriend as the shooting was taking place, Waters said. During the Sunday evening prayer vigil, family and community members remembered Gallion as a devoted father who had planned to spend the weekend with his 4-year-old daughter.

Gallion's family recalled his sense of humor and work ethic, and that he viewed his job as a restaurant manager as a way to provide for her.

"My brother shouldn’t have lost his life," his sister, Latiffany Gallion, said Sunday. "A simple day of going to the store, and he’s taken away from us forever."

Sabrina Rozier, the child’s maternal grandmother, said Gallion "never missed a beat" and that he was supposed to see his daughter on Saturday.

Bishop John Guns said Gallion attended St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church in Jacksonville.

"In two weeks I have to preach a funeral of a man who should still be alive," Guns told the crowd. "He was not a gangster, he was not a thug – he was a father who gave his life to Jesus and was trying to get it together.

"I wept in church today like a baby because my heart is tired. We are exhausted," he added.

A Gofund me has been set up his cousin Jasmine Mable.

Targeted attack: 3 Black victims killed in racially motivated shooting at Jacksonville Dollar General

This is a developing story and will be updated with more details as they become available. Thao Nguyen, Eduardo Cuevas and Minnah Arshad of USA TODAY, The Associated Press and the Times-Union's Scott Butler contributed to this report.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jacksonville Dollar General store shooting victims' names