Families of 3 killed in Jacksonville Dollar General shooting sue store, gunman's family

Attorneys representing the families of three Black victims killed in an August shooting at a Florida Dollar General filed a lawsuit against the store, the owners of the property where the store sits, a security company and the shooter's estate Monday, seeking damages for wrongful death and negligence.

The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages greater than $50,000 for the Aug. 26 shooting, during which Jerrald Gallion, 29, Anolt "A.J." Laguerre Jr., 19, and Angela Carr, 52, were killed. The shooter, Ryan Palmeter, died by suicide after the racist attack in Jacksonville's predominantly Black New Town neighborhood.

Attorneys Michael Haggard and Ben Crump filed the lawsuit Monday at the Duval County Circuit Court, accusing the businesses of negligence and arguing they have a responsibility under Florida's wrongful death law. Family members spoke at a Tuesday news conference about utilizing the lawsuit as a tool for justice.

The lawsuit seeks damages from Dollar General's entities - DOLGENCORP LLC and DC Strategic LLC. It also names Corso General II LLC, which owned and leased the site to Dollar General's operating firms, and Interface Security Systems LLC, a Missouri firm contracted to handle security.

Dollar General, Interface Security Systems and Corso General II didn't immediately respond to USA TODAY's requests for comment.

The complaint also seeks damages from Palmeter’s parents, Stephen and Maryann Palmeter, and argues the couple “owed a duty of care to the general public” to take precautions against potential violence by their son, described by the lawyers as “a ticking time bomb” having “an obsession regarding firearms and violence, and living in a room filled with prescription medications and alcohol, as well as firearms.” The 21-year-old lived with his parents, who didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

“I’m so tired of [hearing] ‘A.J., he’s in a better place.’ No, I want him here,” Quantavious Laguerre said of his younger brother, who worked at the store less than a year. “… I can’t bring A.J. back. If I know there is some sort of accounting so that this won’t happen again, that will bring a little bit of peace to me."

Reflecting on other shootings across the country, Laguerre said, "I want this to stop. I hear about this all the time. I never thought it would be me."   

The complaint calls the store where the killings happened “a criminal’s safe haven” that was “devoid of meaningful security measures.”

"Dollar General, the blood is on your hands, too," Crump said during the news conference. "The presence of a security guard would have made all the difference in the world."

The lawsuit argues Palmeter's estate should pay for mental pain and suffering, loss of earnings and support by his victims and the cost of funerals, as well as other unspecified losses.

Gallion’s mother, Carrol Gibbs, talked about her son’s habit of calling each morning and the frantic call from the mother of Gallion's young child saying Gallion had been shot.

On the day of the killings in August, the shooter had driven to a different dollar store but left after spotting a security guard, according to the sheriff's office. He then went to Edward Waters University and put on a military-style tactical vest before being approached by university security, leaving again, and driving to the nearby Dollar General, where he opened fire with an AR-15 rifle.

"He hated Black people," Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters said at the time after reviewing racist writings the gunman had left for his family, federal law enforcement and at least one media outlet.

Palmeter's father called the Clay County Sheriff's Office, according to records released to Jacksonville.com, part of the USA TODAY Network, after getting a text from his son, but the notice was too late.

Haggard said one goal in including Palmeter's parents in the lawsuit is to get information about how his focus on guns and racial grievance was fueled.

Haggard said young white men are being radicalized and "we need to get to the bottom of what's happening." He said Palmeter's parents might not have been connected to his decision to kill, but the lawsuit would help shed light to determine that.

"We want to find out what was going on at home, and we'll see where this leads," Haggard said.