Newly released audio from a 911 call sheds light on the shooter who killed three Black people at a Dollar General store in Jacksonville, Florida.
On Tuesday (August 29), the Clay County sheriff's office released edited audio of the 911 call made by the father of Ryan Palmeter, the 21-year-old white gunman accused of launching a racially motivated attack at a Jacksonville Dollar General on Saturday (August 26), per NBC News.
Palmeter, who worked at a Dollar Tree store from October 2021 to July 2022, stopped at a Family Dollar before heading to Edward Waters University on the day of the shooting, according to Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters. Waters said the shooter put on a bulletproof vest, mask, and gloves at the HBCU. He left the university after he was approached by a campus security officer.
Less than an hour later, the gunman arrived at the Dollar General store where he shot and killed 52-year-old Angela Michelle Carr in the parking lot. The man later entered the store and fatally shot 19-year-old Anolt Joseph “AJ” Laguerre Jr. A third victim, Jerrald Gallion, 29, was shot to death after he walked into the store with his girlfriend.
Upon arrival at the scene, officers heard a gunshot, which is believed to be when the gunman shot and killed himself.
Palmeter's father, Stephen Palmeter, talked to 911 dispatchers 45 minutes after the shooting began, warning of upsetting messages he found in his son's room, according to the Clay County sheriff's office. During the call, Stephen Palmeter said his son had stopped taking his psychiatric medication and rarely left his room since dropping out of college.
“He doesn’t go anywhere,” the father said. “He flunked out of Flagler College, moved home a couple years ago, had a job for awhile at Home Depot and lost that job, and pretty much has been living in his room.”
Stephen Palmeter also detailed "homicidal and suicidal threats" that were included in his son's writings.
According to additional records released on Tuesday, Ryan Palmeter previously fled his parents' home in 2017, leaving behind a note that detailed plans to take his own life. He was put in custody under a Florida law that allows involuntary psychiatric evaluations for up to 72 hours.
The 21-year-old used two guns in Saturday's shooting that were legally purchased earlier this year despite him previously being involuntarily committed for a mental health exam.
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