It was only a matter of time until legal action entered the conversation regarding the racially motivated shooting in Jacksonville, Fla. that claimed the lives of three Black people. The families of the victims are targeting the Dollar General where the shooting happened in a new lawsuit filed Monday.
The suit was filed on behalf of the families of Angela Carr, Jerrald Gallion and AJ Laguerre -- the three people fatally shot by Ryan Palmeter while shopping in a Dollar General — claiming that if better security measures were put in place considering the string of local robberies and shooting crimes, Palmeter’s racist rampage could’ve been prevented.
The same Dollar General was even burglarized the day prior to the shooting, the suit claims.
The suit accused the store and its operators of failing to provide adequate safety measures for employees and customers in the form of security guards, properly operating surveillance cameras or simply more workers on site.
“Notoriously, in fact, Dollar General stores are known to have an inadequate number of employees working at any given time, making the stores crime magnets,” the suit reads.
In addition to the four companies, the estate of Palmeter as well as his parents are named defendants in the suit. The filing claims that Maryann, Palmeter’s mother, knew her son was a “ticking timebomb” with an obsession with firearms and violence. The suit also claims that while he struggled with alcoholism, according to the letter he left his parents, both failed to supervise him accordingly.
“While Palmeter was deterred from harming the public at his two preceding stops, at this Dollar General, there was nothing in place to again deter Palmeter from attacking and killing innocent persons,” the lawsuit reads.
The defendants are accused of three counts of negligence, and for the estate of Palmeter, three counts of negligence and battery. Co-signed by civil rights attorney Ben Crump, the seeks a jury trial but demands damages for the pain, mental anguish and funeral expenses incurred by the families.
The lawsuit comes after local news reported the completion of the store’s renovations, in preparation for reopening. However, it’s unclear if any new security measures are going to be adopted.