Targeted 'because they were Black': Jacksonville’s state senator reacts to Saturday mass shooting

27 August 2023

Florida State Senator Tracie Davis (D-5th District) represents residents of Jacksonville, where on Saturday a white gunman allegedly stormed into a Dollar General and murdered three Black customers "with an AR-15-style rifle that bore swastika markings, as well as a handgun," according to Orlando Mayorquin of The New York Times.

The shooting "was racially motivated, and he hated Black people," Sheriff TK Waters said at a press conference, adding that authorities are investigating the attack as a hate crime.

On Sunday, Davis shared with MSNBC host Katie Phang how Saturday's events are affecting herself and her life-long home.

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"Good morning, Katie. Thank you for having me. I'm actually still processing it. Just, just watching it there it hits home all over again. And you're right, this is my community, Born, bred, been in Jacksonville all my life and it hurts. It absolutely hurts. And like many people here, we're still processing it, devastated, heartbroken. It just hurts," Davis said.

"Senator, I know you have a role officially as a state senator. I see your emotion. You're a woman of color. You're a black woman who lives in this community. The shooter targeted the Black victims specifically with messages of hate. How does the community process the fact that somebody like this, this white male shooter, could come into a place where unsuspecting victims are just shopping on a Saturday afternoon and that he wanted to kill them just because of the way that they look?" Phang asked.

David replied, "As we're processing it, I wake up today and the only thing I can say is those three people were gunned down because they were Black. We are in 2023 and we are dealing with racial issues like this. It's devastating. It's absolutely devastating, simply knowing that you are targeted because of the color of your skin."

Watch the clip below or at this link.

MSNBC 08 27 2023 08 06 48www.youtube.com

View Mayorquin's report here (subscription required).

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