Racially motivated gunman kills 3, commits suicide in Florida

Three black people have been killed after a white man wielding a high-calibre handgun attacked a store in the US city of Jacksonville, Florida.

Local authorities described the crime as racially motivated.

The gunman was said to be dressed in a tactical vest and is believed to have killed himself after committing the crime.

Jacksonville Sheriff, TK Waters, while addressing the press, disclosed that the three victims – two men and a woman – were all black.

“This shooting was racially motivated, and he hated Black people,” Waters said.

According to Waters, the authorities believed the shooter acted alone, and that before the shooting he had authored “several manifestos” for the media, his parents, and law enforcement detailing his hatred for Black people.

Waters described his weapons as a Glock and an “AR-15 style” rifle, with swastikas on it, referring to a lightweight semi-automatic long gun often used in mass shootings.