skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Friday, July 26, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Arson attacks paralyze French high-speed rail network hours before start of Olympics, the Obamas endorse Harris for President; A NY county creates facial recognition, privacy protections; Art breathes new life into pollution-ravaged MI community; 34 Years of the ADA.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Harris meets with Israeli PM Netanyahu and calls for a ceasefire. MI Rep. Rashida Tlaib faces backlash for a protest during Netanyahu's speech. And VA Sen. Mark Warner advocates for student debt relief.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

There's a gap between how rural and urban folks feel about the economy, Colorado's 'Rural is Rad' aims to connect outdoor businesses, more than a dozen of Maine's infrastructure sites face repeated flooding, and chocolate chip cookies rock August.

Jacksonville Mourns After Racist Shooting Leaves Three Dead

play audio
Play

Monday, August 28, 2023   

People in Jacksonville are mourning the deaths of three Black residents, gunned down by a white man who left behind "manifestos," leading investigators to believe the shooting was a hate crime.

The victims of the shooting at a Dollar General store Saturday were identified as Anolt "A.J." Laguerre Jr., 19; Jerrald De'Shaun Gallon, 29; and Angela Michelle Carr, 52. The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office identified the gunman as Ryan Palmeter, 21, who first attempted to drive through Edward Waters University, a nearby historically Black school.

Rahman Johnson, a member of the Jacksonville City Council and a professor at Edward Waters University, said there is work to be done.

"These three lives that were taken here in Jacksonville, I pray that they are not in vain," Johnson stressed. "Rather than just grieving and crying, as Iylanla Vanzant once said, 'Let's cry with a purpose. Let's grieve, and then work.'"

As for what the work entails, Johnson acknowledged he is not quite sure just yet, but thinks there must be a serious focus on mental health for a community in trauma, and perhaps conversations around the systemic issues leading to the shooting. In a video statement, Gov. Ron DeSantis condemned the shooting and called the gunman a "scumbag."

Johnson is reluctant to blame one person or group, but said it is what happens "when Diversity Equity and Inclusion is seen as the enemy," referencing the recent policy actions led by some state officials, including Gov. DeSantis.

"When we say we don't want to be able to interact with people who love differently than we do -- who worship differently than we do, who live differently than we do -- we then end up creating and watering seeds of divisiveness that give us the fruit that we now see, which is this heinous act," Johnson contended.

Johnson also voiced concern about the expansion of gun laws and new education standards in Florida, which ignore the realities of African American history. He pointed out given the governor's position of advocating for the changes, he is unable to reconcile DeSantis' statement of condemnation.

"When we say that African American History should be taught one way, that there 'could've been a value or benefit to slavery,' or that people who -- when the Constitution was authored -- were not considered people, all of a sudden, all of that is supposed to be washed away, and we can't learn about that and learn from that," Johnson emphasized. "I think that's antithetical to learning, so unfortunately, I don't see those actions nor the statements as being congruent. "

Palmeter used an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle and a Glock handgun in the shootings. On Sunday, the local sheriff said he shot one person as she sat in her car outside the store, another just after he entered the store, and shot the third minutes later. Eleven minutes after the shooting started and as police entered the store, Palmeter killed himself. The U.S. Justice Department is investigating the case as a hate crime.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
According to the Tax Policy Center, for higher-income earners, sales taxes consume a lower share of their income than for other households. (Vitalii Vodolazskyi/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

As Nebraska state lawmakers convene for a special session on property tax reform called by Gov. Jim Pillen, groups are weighing in on the details …


play sound

Traveling around rural Minnesota can be difficult but in more than half the state, nonprofit transit systems are helping people get where they need …

Social Issues

play sound

Student loan forgiveness took center stage on Thursday at the American Federation of Teachers conference. The Biden administration has canceled more …


Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., has introduced legislation to codify the Chevron Deference into law. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Recent Supreme Court rulings on air pollution are affecting Virginia and the nation. Climate advocates said the court overstepped its bounds in …

Health and Wellness

play sound

World Hepatitis Day is this Sunday, and for the Oregon Health Authority, it's an opportunity to promote its plan to eliminate hepatitis across the …

The Gender Shades project revealed facial recognition performed poorest for darker-skinned women, and performed best for lighter-skinned men. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Columbia County, New York, is implementing new facial recognition and privacy policies, following new upgrades to the county's surveillance cameras…

Health and Wellness

play sound

New York disability-rights advocates are celebrating the 34th anniversary of the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The 1990 …

Social Issues

play sound

As summer winds down and North Carolina students prepare to return to school, the focus shifts to the urgent need for better public education funding…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021