JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — In the aftermath following Saturday afternoon's horrific mass shooting resulting in the death of three Black people, two prayer vigils are scheduled to take place in Jacksonville on Sunday.
The first vigil will be held at 9:30 a.m. at St. Paul AME Church and the second, will be held at 5:30 p.m. at 2161 Kings Rd. where Mayor Donna Deegan, Sheriff T.K. Waters, Jacksonville Councilwoman Ju'Coby Pittman and other city leaders will be in attendance, according to a news release.
The two vigils will remember the lives lost on Saturday just after 1 p.m., when a white male who has yet to have been identified and from Clay County, Florida, killed three people inside of a Dollar General on Kings Road in Jacksonville.
Clay County Sheriff's Office called the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office at 11:39 a.m. on Saturday, letting them know the shooter was en route to Jacksonville, Waters said during a press conference at 6:30 p.m. following the shooting. At 1:18 p.m., the shooter called his father and told him to check his computer. The suspect's family then called the Clay County Sheriff's Office at 1:53 p.m., Water said.
It was too late. The suspect had already walked into the store, armed with a Glock and an AR-15 style rifle and wearing a tactical vest, Waters said. Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan who also attended the news conference, said the shooter's rifle had swastikas on it.
"I'm heartbroken," Deegan said. "This is a community that has suffered again and again. We must do everything to dissuade this type of hate."
The sheriff said the shooter authored several manifestos.
"One to his parents, one to the media, and one to federal agents," Waters said. "Portions of these manifestos detail the shooter's disgusting ideology of hate. Plainly put… he hated Black people."
The names of the victims have not been released. Waters said on an appearance Sunday morning on Good Morning America that the sheriff's office is "very close" with identifying the shooter.
The shooter had past run-ins with Clay County authorities including a domestic call in 2016 in which he wasn't arrested and a Baker Act in 2017. Waters said there is no information that the shooter acted as part of any larger group and he acted alone.
Sherri Onks, FBI Special Agent in Charge of the Jacksonville Field Office, also attended the Saturday news conference. She said her office is investigating the shooting as a hate crime.
"No life should ever be lost to this kind of violence," she said. "Immediately upon learning about the shooting, FBI agents rushed to the scene to assist our partners at JSO … every FBI resource will be brought to bear to aid in this investigation."