JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – It’s been two years.
Two years since a gunman drove from Clay County to a Jacksonville Dollar General on Kings Road.
Two years since he started shooting and took the lives of three innocent people.
Two years since the tragic shooting galvanized an entire community that is still trying to find healing in the midst of the pain.
On August 26, 2023, 52-year-old Angela Carr, 19-year-old A.J. Laguerre Jr. and 29-year-old Jerald Gallion were senselessly shot and killed in the racially-motivated shooting that the Federal Bureau of Investigation declared a hate crime.
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“Over the past two years, our community has demonstrated the courage necessary for healing,” Mayor Donna Deegan said during the memorial ceremony on Sunday. “We refused to let hate write the last chapter of this story.”
Sunday’s memorial ceremony was a healing moment for the families of the victims and survivors. Plaques were placed on three trees to remember Carr, Laguerre and Gallion, and a new bench was unveiled with the survivors’ names.
Each family walked to the memorial tree and watered it to honor their loved ones.
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“When I got the call, I was in disbelief.” Councilwoman Ju’Coby Pittman said, recalling her emotions when she arrived at the scene on that Saturday afternoon.
She recalled seeing other city leaders like Sheriff T.K. Waters and Mayor Deegan visibly disturbed by the events that unfolded.
“All we could do was pray,” she said. So the political leaders joined hands and formed a prayer circle in the middle of the street.
“We prayed, but that just wasn’t good enough. I felt like we needed to do something,” Pittman said. “No one deserves to lose their life because somebody has hatred in their heart. That’s unacceptable.”
Each victim was honored with a tribute during the ceremony that reflected their shining lights and lasting legacies two years after they tragically lost their lives.
A lawsuit filed by an attorney representing Laguerre and Gallion aims to hold Dollar General accountable for what the lawyer said was a troubling pattern of negligence by the company.
Adam Finkel, a partner at The Haggard Law Firm, said the case was moving closer to trial next year.