A gunman who opened fire at a Dollar General store in Jacksonville, Fla., on Saturday afternoon, killed three people before taking his own life, authorities said.
The shooter, whose name has not yet been released, was described by Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters as a white male in his early 20s who left behind "manifestos."
"Plainly put, this shooting was racially motivated and he hated Black people," Waters said during a press conference on Saturday evening, adding that the hate at the heart of the writings "adds an additional layer of heartbreak to this tragedy."
The suspect then died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, Waters disclosed. His name was not immediately released.
No one else was wounded in the shooting. The victims, two males and a female, were not immediately identified.
The suspect was wearing a tactical vest and mask and was armed with a Glock and an AR-15-style rifle, Waters said. There were also swastikas on the guns, he added.
In the news conference, Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan called the shooting a "hate-filled crime."
The suspect, who lived in Jacksonville's Clay County with his parents, "authored several manifestos," Waters said, including one to his parents, another to the media, and a third to "federal agents." At 1:18 p.m. local time, the shooter told his father to check his computer, and by 1:53 p.m., the shooter's family called the Clay County Sheriff's Office, Waters said.
The sheriff said investigators believe the gunman acted alone and wore both a tactical vest and mask during the attack. He was armed with an AR-15 style rifle and a handgun.
Waters showed photos of the weapons during a news conference, which showed swastikas were drawn on one of the guns with white paint.
“We have opened a federal civil rights investigation, and we will pursue this incident as a hate crime,” said Sherri Onks, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Jacksonville office.
Deegan also addressed the media at the conference saying, “We must do everything we can to dissuade this type of hate.”
Waters said there is no evidence that the shooter is associated with any hate groups.
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