JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The sister of Jerrald Gallion, one of the three victims killed in Saturday’s hate crime shooting, shared her memories of her brother who was killed by a “racially-motivated” shooter while entering a Jacksonville Dollar General store on Saturday.
Angela Carr, 52, and A.J. Laguerre, 19, also lost their lives in the shooting that shook the New Town community and beyond.
Latiffany Gallion said her brother planned to pick his daughter up that day but never made it.
“The moment he found out he was going to be a father. He changed his life for the better for her, and he would have gave her the world so he was a wonderful, wonderful father,” Latiffany Gallion said.
Since the shooting, Gallion said she doesn’t feel safe anymore.
“You don’t know if you’re a target going to the store. I have a girl at home she’s 10 years old. I could have been in Dollar General with her,” she said. “It feels like your target just because of our skin color and it’s not right.”
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Latiffany Gallion said her brother was a loving person.
“And if anything, I want his name to make us love one another a little bit more. Love this person a little bit more love that person a little bit more. We got to love each other a little bit more so his name, he just doesn’t die in vain,” she said.
Gallion said she and her family are thankful for the community’s love and support during this hard time for their family.
That community support is coming from everywhere, including three local mothers.
“It could have been our son I could have been our brother. You know, so just the fact that moment that you’re here that you just like you say you live on the edge here so it was you just know is you just want to help,” said Haraka Carswell, Silent Women Speaking Foundation Founder
“For me, it was because it was my daughter and was even though the same color of skin, I’m more than certain it was hatred. And so at some point you have to pour more than enough. You have to overextend them to drown out the hate and the hurt,” said Rekita Jones.
Rekita Jones said the constant tragedy in the Black community is overwhelming.
“Every time you turn on your cellular device, at your iPads, whatever it is, you’re looking at the heart of another Black mother, another Black father, grieving over their child. A child losing a parent,” Jones said. “We are a community they’re aspiring to get understanding and to show resilience and to continue moving forward. And as we start to move forward, another occurrence happens and then it’s almost like we’re taking a step backward.”
These moms hope to continue to unite the community in a positive way.
They said since the tragedy unfolded, they feel the community has come together and they hope to keep up the consistency.