Boo birds rained down on Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis during a Sunday vigil as the crowd jeered over his message on the racially-motivated tragedy, “Your policies caused this!”
A day after a man entered a Dollar General in Jacksonville, Florida and murdered three individuals, the governor attended the nearby vigil to show his support for the victims’ families and the community. As 52-year-old Angela Michelle Carr, 19-year-old Anolt Joseph “AJ” Laguerre Jr., and 29-year-old Jerrald Gallion were remembered, DeSantis was reviled.
Video from the scene was shared by Daily Mail that featured the booing as the governor approached the podium, loud enough to drown out much of what he said.
The message from the governor included his intent to provide financial assistance and aid to the impacted families as well as nearby Edward Waters University, a small historically black school where the murderer had been spotted prior to opening fire at the Dollar General Saturday.
As previously reported, Sheriff T.K. Waters had noted the disturbed murderer, “hated black people,” but it was initially unknown whether the school was an intended target.
While many reactions on social media seemed charged to attack the presidential candidate and weaponize the incident against his campaign, even Jacksonville Councilwoman Ju’Coby Pittman (D) recognized the importance of separating politics from the response as she took the microphone Sunday to encourage the crowd to “put parties aside.”
“A bullet don’t know a party,” she offered.
What many were unable to hear at the vigil was DeSantis telling the crowd, “We’re going to be announcing some stuff tomorrow morning which I think will help, not only with security, but also an attempt to help these families. What he did was totally unacceptable in the state of Florida.”
“We are not going to let people be targeted based on their race,” he went on. “We are going to stand up, and we are going to do what we need to do to make sure that evil does not triumph in the state of Florida.”
In addition to his appearance at the vigil, the governor made certain that the actions he was taking for the people of Jacksonville were clearly stated as he held a press conference to provide the latest updates on Tropical Storm Idalia.
As the storm neared the coast of Florida, DeSantis took a moment to again honor the victims and stated, “I would like to say a few additional words about what happened in Jacksonville yesterday. Florida, the state, and its people condemn the horrific, racially-motivated murders perpetrated by a deranged scumbag in Jacksonville at the Dollar General store.”
“Perpetrating violence of this kind is unacceptable and targeting people due to their race has no place in the state of Florida. Casey and I extend condolences to the victims and their families on behalf of the entire state of Florida,” he went on.
.@CaseyDeSantis and I stand with the families impacted by the tragic shooting in Jacksonville. The people of Florida stand united in condemning the horrific, racially-motivated murders.
Our family is praying for the victims, their families and the student body of Edward Waters… pic.twitter.com/spFBiX4C8g
— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) August 27, 2023
Critics of the state’s current gun laws were slapped down by the sheriff who noted of the murderer, “There was no criminal record, nothing…There were no red flags.”
Native of Brooklyn, NY, Kevin Haggerty is a graduate of Hunter College where he studied Cultural Anthropology and Geography. An avid reader and truth seeker, he currently resides in Texas with his wife and their dog and, when he isn't researching current events and their impacts, you'll find him spending time with friends and family or working on his next novel.
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