JACKSONVILLE, FL – Last Saturday, 21-year-old Ryan Christopher Palmeter walked into a Dollar General and killed two people. That was after firing approximately 11 shots into a car in the parking lot, killing the occupant of that vehicle. He then turned one of his guns on himself, taking his own life.
Dressed in an armored vest, he was armed with an AR-15 and a Glock semi-automatic pistol.
In a press conference following those murders, which are believed to have been racially motivated, Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters told those in attendance that the focus need not be on which guns he used, or that he used guns, but on the individual who would be capable of ending three complete strangers’ lives.
“We have to stop people that have bad intentions,” Sheriff Waters said. “The story is always about guns. People are bad. This guy’s a bad guy.
"If I could take my gun off right now and I lay it on this counter, nothing will happen. It’ll sit there. But as soon as a wicked person grabs a hold of that handgun and start shooting people with it, there’s the problem. The problem is the individual.”
“Now, guns are a tool that people use to do horrible things, but it’s the individuals that wield these things,” he added. “So, we are working hard to try to stop that. But in this situation, in this case, there was nothing saying there was nothing illegal about him owning the firearms.”
Although Palmeter's parents said he was not allowed to keep the firearms in their home, they were each purchased legally.
“There was no criminal record, nothing. There were no red flags,” according to Waters.
Palmeter was involuntarily admitted for psychiatric observation in 2017 under Florida’s Baker Act. This act allows individuals to be detained for observation for up to 72hours. The predicate is that they are believed to be a danger to themselves or others during a mental health crisis.
Palmeter was released following that evaluation.
According to CNN, who spoke with the sheriff regarding the “red flags,” Waters said, “If there is a Baker Act situation, they’re prohibited from getting guns. We don’t know if that Baker Act was recorded properly, whether it was considered a full Baker Act.”
Water also said, “Portions of these manifestos detail the shooter’s disgusting ideology of hate. Plainly put, the shooting was racially motivated, and he hated black people. He wanted to kill [explitive used towards black people]. That’s the one and only time I’ll use that word. I want to be very clear that there’s absolutely no evidence that the shooter is part of any large group. We know that he acted completely alone.”
Killed in the shootings were 52-year-old Angela Michelle Carr, 19-year-old store employee Anolt Joseph “AJ” Laguerre Jr, and 29-year-old customer Jarrald De’Shaun Gallion.
Dressed in an armored vest, he was armed with an AR-15 and a Glock semi-automatic pistol.
In a press conference following those murders, which are believed to have been racially motivated, Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters told those in attendance that the focus need not be on which guns he used, or that he used guns, but on the individual who would be capable of ending three complete strangers’ lives.
“We have to stop people that have bad intentions,” Sheriff Waters said. “The story is always about guns. People are bad. This guy’s a bad guy.
"If I could take my gun off right now and I lay it on this counter, nothing will happen. It’ll sit there. But as soon as a wicked person grabs a hold of that handgun and start shooting people with it, there’s the problem. The problem is the individual.”
“Now, guns are a tool that people use to do horrible things, but it’s the individuals that wield these things,” he added. “So, we are working hard to try to stop that. But in this situation, in this case, there was nothing saying there was nothing illegal about him owning the firearms.”
Although Palmeter's parents said he was not allowed to keep the firearms in their home, they were each purchased legally.
“There was no criminal record, nothing. There were no red flags,” according to Waters.
Palmeter was involuntarily admitted for psychiatric observation in 2017 under Florida’s Baker Act. This act allows individuals to be detained for observation for up to 72hours. The predicate is that they are believed to be a danger to themselves or others during a mental health crisis.
Palmeter was released following that evaluation.
According to CNN, who spoke with the sheriff regarding the “red flags,” Waters said, “If there is a Baker Act situation, they’re prohibited from getting guns. We don’t know if that Baker Act was recorded properly, whether it was considered a full Baker Act.”
Water also said, “Portions of these manifestos detail the shooter’s disgusting ideology of hate. Plainly put, the shooting was racially motivated, and he hated black people. He wanted to kill [explitive used towards black people]. That’s the one and only time I’ll use that word. I want to be very clear that there’s absolutely no evidence that the shooter is part of any large group. We know that he acted completely alone.”
Killed in the shootings were 52-year-old Angela Michelle Carr, 19-year-old store employee Anolt Joseph “AJ” Laguerre Jr, and 29-year-old customer Jarrald De’Shaun Gallion.
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Comments
2023-08-30T14:55-0400 | Comment by: Ed
How about we DO THIS....instead of blaming the weapons what if we started blaming the physiatrist to evaluate these individuals? Did you ever notice the SAME underlying statements from those who claim to be experts in mental health issues: "My patient didn't appear to have issues." Damn, nearly every mental health professional will say something similar after their client goes off murdering people.
2023-08-30T14:55-0400 | Comment by: Ed
How about we DO THIS....instead of blaming the weapons what if we started blaming the physiatrist to evaluate these individuals? Did you ever notice the SAME underlying statements from those who claim to be experts in mental health issues: "My patient didn't appear to have issues." Damn, nearly every mental health professional will say something similar after their client goes off murdering people.