Mourners attend a prayer vigil a day after a white man armed with a high-powered rifle and a handgun killed three Black people at a Dollar General store before shooting himself, in what local law enforcement described as a racially motivated crime in Jacksonville, Florida, U.S. August 27, 2023. REUTERS/Malcom Jackson
(Reuters) - A white man who shot and killed three African Americans at a Dollar General Store in Jacksonville, Florida, on Saturday was motivated by a hatred of Black people, according to police, who said he left behind several statements detailing his motives.
The rampage, which ended when the gunman killed himself, is the latest mass shooting in recent years that appears to have targeted victims based on their race, religion or sexual orientation.
Here is a list of some others.
PULSE NIGHTCLUB SHOOTING, 2016, ORLANDO, 49 DEAD
A gunman shot and killed 49 people and wounded 53 others at Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, before police shot and killed him after a three-hour standoff.
The 2016 shooting was the deadliest incident of violence involving LGBTQ people in the United States, surpassing a 1973 arson attack at a New Orleans club that killed 32 people.
Prosecutors said the gunman made the attack in the name of Islamic State, although his motivations for choosing Pulse remain unclear.
TREE OF LIFE SYNAGOGUE SHOOTING, 2018, PITTSBURGH, 11 DEAD
A 46-year-old truck driver shot and killed 11 people and wounded six at Pittsburgh's Tree of Life synagogue during a service in October 2018. It was the deadliest attack ever on the Jewish community in the United States.
Before the shooting, the gunman, who was shot and wounded by police, described his antisemitic feelings on social media. He was found guilty of federal hate-related charges and earlier this month was sentenced to death. He still faces murder charges in state court.
TOPS SUPERMARKET SHOOTING, 2022, BUFFALO, 10 DEAD
In May 2022 an 18-year-old man killed 10 Black people at a Tops Friendly Markets grocery store in western New York. The gunman wrote a 180-page manifesto on racial purity before driving more than 240 miles (380 km) to Buffalo, a place where he expected to find Black people, police said.
After a trial, he received 11 life sentences plus 90 years on murder, domestic terrorism and other charges. He still faces the death penalty on federal hate-crime charges.
MOTHER EMANUEL CHURCH SHOOTING, 2015, CHARLESTON, NINE DEAD
In May 2015, a 21-year-old self-avowed white supremacist and neo-Nazi killed nine Black people during a Bible study class at the historic Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina. He left a manifesto and told authorities he hoped to spark a race war.
He was sentenced to death in federal court and was given nine consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole in state court.
DAY SPA SHOOTINGS, ATLANTA, 2021, EIGHT DEAD
A 21-year-old gunman was charged with killing eight people, including six women of Asian descent, at three day spas in the Atlanta area. He has pleaded guilty to four homicides at one of the spas in a county outside Atlanta. He has said he is a sex addict and denied that he was motivated by race.
He awaits trial on four other murder counts in Atlanta where he faces the death penalty if convicted. Georgia prosecutors have said they intend to designate the case as a hate crime based on race or gender.
(Reporting by Rich McKay in Atlanta, Editing by Rosalba O'Brien)
