JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A memorial outside of Dollar General on Kings Road that honors the three shooting victims shot and killed inside of the store in August of 2023, has been restored after it was damaged.
New rocks, flowers, mini statues, and photos of the victims now sit in front of the store.
Mary Malcom, who took charge on the project, says she travels down Kings Road daily for work. After seeing the damage long enough, she decided to restore it with the help of her husband, children, and community members.
“Going to work again, and I saw the stuff still sitting out here; it’s still not cleaned up. I could not go another day seeing the stuff on the ground like this,” Malcom said.
Malcom says it’s less about her, though.
“It’s okay to step outside of your comfort zone and help people out, even if they’re not family. Because if it was my family, I’d want someone to do it for me,” Malcom said.
Jacksonville District 10 councilwoman Ju’Coby Pittman says this is the first time something has happened to this memorial. To her, the thought of it being damaged was heartbreaking.
“To deface pictures of individuals who had families themselves is just totally disrespect. And we’re not going to tolerate this as a community. And whomever did this for whatever reason, it’s unacceptable,” Pittman said.
She says in the near future, they have plans to add to this memorial. That’s in addition to the memorial park dedication just minutes away.
"This year coming, we have something very special that will be a permanent fixture in front of Dollar General. And so, we want to make sure that our community never forget this hate that happened in District 10 and on Kings Road," Pittman said.
As for Malcom and her family, they hope that the community can take care of what’s meant to honor the victims.
“We’re supposed to take care of each other. If we can’t rely on ourselves and each other, what can we rely on?” Carl-Evans Augustin, Malcom’s husband, said.
Action News Jax reached out to JSO to ask if this was reported as an act of vandalism. A spokesperson says they didn’t receive any reports.
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