Lawsuit Filed in Racially-Motivated Shooting at Dollar General; Loved Ones Seek Justice for Victims

A wrongful death lawsuit has been filed by the loved ones of three Black people who were killed in a racially-motivated shooting at a Dollar General store in Jacksonville, Florida. The lawsuit accuses the discount chain store and the gunman’s parents of negligence. The lawsuit alleges that Dollar General failed to take measures to keep customers and employees safe and accuses the parents of the suspected gunman, Ryan Christopher Palmeter, of failing to protect the public from his criminal acts.

The shooting took place in August at a Dollar General on Kings Road in Jacksonville. The victims were identified as 29-year-old Jerrald De’Shaun Gallion, 52-year-old Angela Michelle Carr, and 19-year-old Anolt Joseph “AJ” Laguerre Jr., who worked at the store as a clerk. Civil rights lawyer Benjamin Crump, one of the attorneys representing the victims’ relatives, stated during a news conference that Dollar General had “blood on their hands” for not having a security guard on the premises at the time of the shooting.

The lawsuit, filed in a Florida court, names Dollar General, its subsidiaries, the security company it contracted, and Palmeter’s parents as defendants. It alleges that Dollar General failed to provide adequate security despite being located in a high-crime area. Police described the shooting as racially motivated, and investigators found writings by Palmeter containing offensive and hateful language, including racial slurs.

The lawsuit claims that Dollar General was warned of previous criminal acts in the area and accuses the store of negligence for not implementing necessary security measures. It also accuses Palmeter’s parents of negligence for failing to take action to protect the public from their son, despite knowing about his mental health issues and obsession with firearms.

The relatives of the victims hope that the lawsuit will bring about change in Dollar General’s security practices. The shooting at Dollar General is reminiscent of a similar incident that occurred at a Tops grocery store in Buffalo, New York, where 10 Black people were fatally shot by a self-described white supremacist. No lawsuits were filed against Tops in the aftermath of that shooting.

In response to the investigation by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Dollar General stated that it did not believe there was any connection between store conditions and the tragic events. The investigation is still ongoing.