By RUSS BYNUM (Associated Press)
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — A.J. Laguerre labored at a Dollar General retailer after ending highschool to assist help the grandmother who raised him. Angela Michelle Carr was an Uber driver beloved by her kids. Jerrald Gallion relished weekends together with his 4-year-old daughter.
All three had been slain Saturday when a gunman with swastikas painted on his rifle opened fireplace on the Dollar General the place Laguerre labored in Jacksonville. The sheriff mentioned writings left by the killer, a 21-year-old white man, made clear that he was motivated by racism. Each sufferer was Black.
“I never thought I’d have to bury my baby brother,” Quan Laguerre mentioned Monday outdoors the household’s home not removed from the shop.
“They say don’t question God,” he mentioned. “But I just want to know why.”
A.J. Laguerre, 19, was the youngest of 5 siblings, all raised by their grandmother after their mom died in 2009, his brother mentioned. The household celebrated in 2022 when A.J., like his older siblings earlier than him, graduated from highschool. As he seemed into going to school to review cybersecurity, he obtained a job on the Dollar General retailer a number of months in the past to assist their grandmother pay the payments.
When he was off the clock, A.J. performed Fortnite and different videogames on the live-streaming platform Twitch, his brother mentioned, utilizing the gamer tag galaxysoul. His objective was to construct a big on-line following.
“He had dreams and aspirations of being a professional streamer,” Quan Laguerre mentioned. “So after he would get off work, he’d just stay up until 3 or 4 in the morning just grinding, you know, trying to get that stance and have followers.”
A.J. Laguerre was shot inside the shop making an attempt to flee the gunman, Jacksonville Sheriff T.Okay. Waters instructed reporters.
Carr, 52, was killed within the car parking zone when the shooter fired a number of bullets into her automotive.
“My mother, she was a good woman,” son Chayvaughn Payne instructed The Associated Press in a quick cellphone name Monday.
Civil rights legal professional Ben Crump, who’s representing the Carr household, mentioned at information convention later Monday that Carr had simply dropped off a buyer and was ready for the particular person to get again within the automotive.
Carr be a part of St. Stephen African Methodist Episcopal Church in Jacksonville when she was 3 years previous and nonetheless attended providers there. The pastor mentioned the church group has rallied behind her household.
“She was just a loving, caring mother,” the Rev. David Green mentioned.
Gallion, 29, was shot whereas coming into the shop’s entrance door together with his girlfriend, who escaped.
“My brother shouldn’t have lost his life,” his sister, Latiffany Gallion, mentioned. “A simple day of going to the store, and he’s taken away from us forever.”
Family members recalled Gallion’s humorousness and work ethic. He labored two to 3 jobs — together with as a restaurant supervisor — to supply for his daughter, Je Asia Gallion.
Je Asia’s fifth birthday is approaching and the household had deliberate an enormous occasion, mentioned Sabrina Rozier, the kid’s maternal grandmother. Gallion was trying ahead to a father-daughter dance in February.
“He was so excited about it, talking about the colors they would wear,” Rozier mentioned, as Je Asia performed with the microphones throughout Monday’s information convention. “Now she’s asking, ‘Who shot my daddy?’ ”
Although Gallion’s relationship with the kid’s mom didn’t final, they labored collectively to boost Je Asia. That earned him lasting affection from Rozier.
“He never missed a beat,” Rozier mentioned. “He got her every weekend. As a matter of fact, he was supposed to have her (Saturday).”
Gallion by no means made it to select up his daughter. Now the pastor of the church he attended is making ready to bury him.
“In two weeks I have to preach a funeral of a man who should still be alive,” the Rev. John Guns of St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church mentioned throughout the vigil. “He was not a gangster, he was not a thug — he was a father who gave his life to Jesus and was trying to get it together.”
Source: www.bostonherald.com”