The Jacksonville shooter killed a devoted dad, a beloved mom and a teen helping support his family
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A.J. Laguerre worked at a Dollar General store after finishing high school to help support the grandmother who raised him. Angela Michelle Carr was an Uber driver beloved by her children. Jerrald Gallion relished weekends with his 4-year-old daughter.
A.J. Laguerre worked at a Dollar General store after finishing high school to help support the grandmother who raised him. Angela Michelle Carr was an Uber driver beloved by her children. Jerrald Gallion relished weekends with his 4-year-old daughter.
All three were slain Saturday when a gunman with swastikas painted on his rifle opened fire at the Dollar General where Laguerre worked in Jacksonville. The sheriff said writings left by the killer, a 21-year-old white man, made clear that he was motivated by racism. Each victim was Black.
"I never thought I'd have to bury my baby brother," Quan Laguerre said Monday outside the family's house not far from the store.
"They say don't question God," he said. "But I just want to know why."
A.J. Laguerre, 19, was the youngest of five siblings, all raised by their grandmother after their mother died in 2009, his brother said. The family celebrated in 2022 when A.J., like his older siblings before him, graduated from high school. As he looked into going to college to study cybersecurity, he got a job at the Dollar General store several months ago to help their grandmother pay the bills.
When he was off the clock, A.J. played Fortnite and other videogames on the live-streaming platform Twitch, his brother said, using the gamer tag galaxysoul. His goal was to build a large online following.
"He had dreams and aspirations of being a professional streamer," Quan Laguerre said. "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."
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