JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Community members, including City Council member Ju’Coby Pittman and other city officials, will host a memorial ceremony honoring victims and survivors of the Dollar General shooting in 2023.
The event will take place Wednesday, from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m., at Kings Road Memorial Park at Kings Road and Almeda Street.
Under the theme “We Remember. We Honor. We Unite.”, event organizers said Jacksonville will come together in remembrance of Angela Michelle Carr, Jerrald De’Shaund Gallion and Anolt Joseph “AJ” Laguerre Jr., whose lives were taken.
The racially-motivated shooting occurred at Dollar General on August 26, 2023. A 21-year-old white gunman from Clay County murdered three Black residents — Carr, 52; Gallion, 29; and Laguerre Jr., 19, a store employee - before taking his own life as police arrived.
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Organizers said the ceremony will recognize the survivors and families whose lives were forever changed while offering a chance for people to stand together against hate, racism and violence.
A special candlelight observance, “Lighting the Way Forward,” will serve as a symbol of remembrance, healing, unity and hope.
“We continue this memorial because Angela, Jerrald and AJ must never be reduced to the tragedy that took their lives,” Pittman said. “We remember who they were, we stand with their families and the survivors, and we come together as a community to demonstrate that hate will not have the final word in Jacksonville.”
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