JCRC Statement
August 28, 2023
The JCRC of Greater Washington is saddened and outraged that yet another instance of hate-fueled gun violence on Saturday shattered numerous lives in Jacksonville, where the Black community was once again targeted.
On a day when thousands of people gathered to mark the 60th anniversary of the March on Washington, we saw another mass shooting carried out by a white supremacist whose firearm bore Nazi symbols and who had written manifestoes outlining his hateful ideology.
It’s beyond time that our society confronts the hatred and the accessibility of firearms that facilitates this violence. We have become accustomed to moving from one tragedy to the next, offering thoughts and prayers to the victims with no action until the cycle inevitably repeats itself. We once again call on our elected leaders to stop recklessly using or sharing extremist rhetoric and adopt gun control measures to ban these deadly weapons.
We mourn the lives lost and the communities that are forever impacted by this act of unspeakable hatred. May their memories be a blessing.