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Aug 26 (Reuters) - A white man armed with a high-powered rifle & a handgun killed 3 Black people at a Dollar General store in Jacksonville, Florida, on Saturday, before shooting himself.
"This shooting was racially motivated & he hated Black people," Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters said.
The suspect, whom Waters described as a white male wearing a tactical vest, was not identified. Waters said all 3 victims 2 men & a woman - were Black.
Waters said authorities believed the shooter acted alone & that before the shooting he had authored "several manifestos" for media, his parents & law enforcement detailing his hatred for Black people.
Waters described his weapons as a Glock & an "AR-15 style" rifle, with swastikas on it.
"The hate that motivated the shooter's killing spree adds an additional layer of heartbreak," Waters said.
He said the shooter was spotted at a local historically Black college, Edward Waters University, where he put on his vest & a mask before going to the local branch of the Dollar General.
Sherri Onks, special agent in charge of the Jacksonville FBI office, said federal officials had opened a civil rights investigation & would pursue the incident as a hate crime.
"Hate crimes are always & will always remain a top priority for the FBI because they are not only an attack on a victim, they're also meant to threaten & intimidate an entire community," Onks said.
U.S. President Joe Biden & Attorney General Merrick Garland were briefed on the incident.
Saturday's incident in Jacksonville bears similarity to last year's shooting in Buffalo, where a white supremacist killed 10 Black people & took place 5 years after another gunman opened fire during a video game tournament in Jacksonville, killing 2 people before shooting himself.
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