White man fatally shoots 3 Black people at Florida store; officials call it hate crime
Jacksonville(AP/PTI): A white man fatally shot three people inside a Jacksonville, Florida, Dollar General store on Saturday in a predominately Black neighbourhood in an attack that the local sheriff called "racially motivated." The shooter then killed himself.
"He hated black people," Sheriff T K Waters told a news conference. "There is absolutely no evidence the shooter is part of any larger group."
Waters said the shooter, who was in his 20s, used a Glock handgun and an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle with at least one of the firearms painted with a swastika.
He left behind writings that led investigators to believe that he committed the shooting because it was the fifth anniversary of when another gunman opened fire during a video game tournament in Jacksonville, killing two people before fatally shooting himself.
The shooting happened just before 2 pm at a Dollar General near Edward Waters University, a small historically Black university.
The shooter had driven there from neighbouring Clay County. Shortly before the attack, the shooter had sent his father a text message telling him to check his computer. The father found writings and the family notified 911, but the shooting had already begun, Sheriff Waters said.
Edward Waters University students were being kept in their dorms, the school said in a statement. No students or faculty are believed involved, the school said.
Penny Jones told the The Associated Press that she worked at the store until a few months ago. She lives a few blocks away in the predominantly Black neighbourhood.
"I'm just waiting to hear about my co-workers that I used to work with," Jones said. "I don't know if it's safe to move about the neighbourhood."
Jones added that she was "feeling awkward, scared."
"I don't want to leave my house. I'm thinking, do I want to go back to the store? Is this going to start happening more frequently? I don't know what the cause of it is. I'm confused. It's a lot of different feelings going on right now," she said Saturday afternoon.
The deadly shooting took place within hours of the conclusion of a commemorative March on Washington in the nation's capital, where organizers drew attention to the growing threat of hate-motivated violence against people of color.
An attack on a shopping centre in a predominately Black neighbourhood will undoubtedly evoke fears of past shootings targeting Black Americans, like the one at a Buffalo, New York, supermarket in 2022, and one at a historic African Methodist Episcopal church in Charleston, South Carolina, in 2015.
The Buffalo supermarket shooting, in particular, stands apart as one of the deadliest targeted attacks on Black people by a white lone gunman in US history. Ten people were killed by the gunman, who has been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. (AP)
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PM Modi speaks to Iranian president, discusses 'serious' situation in West Asia
New Delhi (PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday night spoke to Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian over the phone and discussed the "serious situation" in West Asia.
Modi expressed deep concern over the escalation of tensions in the region and the loss of civilian lives as well as damage to civilian infrastructure.
The prime minister told the Iranian President that the safety and security of Indian nationals, along with the need for unhindered transit of goods and energy, remain India's top priorities.
“Had a conversation with Iranian President, Dr Masoud Pezeshkian, to discuss the serious situation in the region. Expressed deep concern over the escalation of tensions and the loss of civilian lives as well as damage to civilian infrastructure,” Modi said in a post on X.
The prime minister also reiterated India's commitment to peace and stability and urged dialogue and diplomacy to end the crisis.
The prime minister had spoken to leaders of several West Asian countries in the last 10 days in the wake of the coordinated offensive launched against Iran by the United States and Israel, in which the Islamic country's Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, was killed last month.
In retaliation, Iran has fired drones and missiles at Israel and US military installations around the Gulf region, including the global business and aviation hubs of Dubai and Doha.
Modi earlier spoke to the leaders of Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Jordan, Israel and Qatar, and expressed concern over the attacks on their countries, and condemned the violation of some nation’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
He also discussed the welfare and security of the Indian community residing in those countries.
Around 1 crore Indians live in the Gulf and West Asia. While about 10,000 Indian citizens live, study and work in Iran, more than 40,000 live in Israel.
