Family Of Jacksonville Victims Sue Dollar General Over Racist Shooting

Family members of the victims of the August Jacksonville shooting at Dollar General are suing the owner, operator, and security contractor of the Jacksonville store, claiming that negligent security helped a racist gunman kill their loved ones.

According to NBC News, the lawsuit was filed on Dec. 4 in a Florida state court. The lawsuit names the parents and estate of Ryan Palmeter, the gunman who killed Angela Carr, Jerrald Gallon, and A.J. Laguerre, as defendants. According to the lawsuit, “While Palmeter was deterred from harming the public at his two preceding stops, at this Dollar General, there was nothing in place to again deter Palmeter from attacking and killing innocent persons.”

According to investigators, Palmeter made it clear in his writings that he carried an intense hatred for Black people. Additionally, Palmeter texted his father and told him to check his computer, where he found a suicide note Palmeter had written along with other writings. His parents notified the authorities, but it was too late, as Palmeter had already begun his attack. Following his attack, Palmeter killed himself at the scene. According to the lawsuit, Palmeter’s parents are also blamed for their negligence, “including but not limited to informing the authorities about the threat posed by Ryan Palmeter and by allowing him and/or assisting him to retain his firearms, despite the evident danger posed.”

Benjamin Crump, who is one of the attorneys representing the relatives of the victims, implicated Dollar General in his remarks at a Dec. 5 press conference, saying at one point, “Dollar General, blood is on your hands, too.”

Q’uantavius Laguerre, the older brother of A.J. Laguerre, also named Dollar General in his remarks, saying, “If Dollar General just simply had somebody there to be security just as Family Dollar did, just as Edward Waters did, I wouldn’t be up here speaking about AJ.”

Laguerre continued, briefly discussing the values he and his brother were raised to embody.

“You know, go to school, don’t be in the streets, don’t sell drugs. Guess what AJ did? He followed and listened, and this is what he gets for repayment — to go to work and die.”