Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis booed at vigil honoring victims of Jacksonville shooting

WASHINGTON — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis was booed while he spoke at a vigil on Sunday honoring the three Black victims of a racially motivated shooting at a Dollar General store in Jacksonville, Florida.

As DeSantis spoke about how his office was looking to identify funds for security at Edward Waters University, a historically Black college near the site of the shooting, he was met with loud boos. The shooter first drove to the college before before going to the Doller General store.

Ju’Coby Pittman, a city councilwoman for Jacksonville, told the crowd of about 200 people to put parties aside and listen to the governor.

“Now if the governor wanted to come here and he bringing gifts to my community, y’all know I’m taking the gifts because we’ve been through enough already, and I don’t want to go through no more,” Pittman said. 

DeSantis continued his remarks by calling the gunman a “major league scumbag.”

“What he did is totally unacceptable in the state of Florida,” he said. “We are not going to let people be targeted based on their race.”

Officials identified the victims as Angela Michelle Carr, 52; A.J. Laguerre, 19; and Jerrald Gallion, 29.

DeSantis faced scrutiny earlier this year for signing a bill that eliminates licensing requirements for Florida residents to carry a concealed firearm in most public places. He has said he thinks the state of Florida should allow residents to openly carry guns.

Major anti-gun violence movements have emerged out of Florida, including after the 2018 shooting at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, where 17 students and faculty were killed.

The vigil on Sunday was a block from the Dollar General store where the shooting took place. Officials said the suspect legally purchased guns despite a past involuntary commitment for a mental health exam.

Contributing: Associated Press