The gunman who killed three victims killed in a racially motivated attack in Jacksonville, Florida, may have originally planned to target a different dollar store, it has been revealed.
Surveillance footage shows shooter Ryan Palmeter, 21, arriving at a Family Dollar store at around 12.23pm on Saturday.
Dressed in a mask, he held the door open for Black customers entering and exiting and briefly entered but then left without carrying out an attack.
Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters told reporters in a press conference that Palmeter then went to the Edwards Waters University where he was turned away by a security guard. He then went to the Dollar General store – around a mile from the first store – where he murdered three people.
The victims have been identified as Angela Michelle Carr, 52, Anolt Joseph “AJ” Laguerre Jr, 19, and Jarrald De’Shaun Gallion, 29.
As details emerge about the shooting, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is coming under fire in the wake of the gun violence in the state where he has loosened gun laws.
At a vigil on Sunday, the crowd booed and heckled Mr DeSantis, forcing him to step back from the microphone.