References to Rhodesia, the white minority-ruled African territory now known as Zimbabwe, have been made by the 2015 Charleston church shooter and segregationist lawmakers. The white gunman who killed three Black people at a Dollar General store in Jacksonville, Florida, over the weekend wore a Rhodesian army patch on his tactical vest, law enforcement sources say, a reference that has been used before during white supremacist attacks. The patch — representing Rhodesia, a former white minority-ruled territory in southern Africa in the 1960s and ’70s that would become Zimbabwe — is yet another symbol of how the shooter, Ryan Palmeter, was racist and was influenced by racist ideology, investigators say. Further details also emerged Monday about his struggles with his mental health and a domestic disturbance that required law enforcement intervention. Follow live coverage of the Jacksonville shooting “This shooting was racially motivated, and he hated Black people,” Sheriff T.K. Waters told reporters Saturday. The victims were identified as: Angela Michelle Carr, 52, an Uber driver who was dropping off a passenger at the Dollar General; Jerrald De’Shaun Gallion, 29; and Anolt Joseph “A.J.” Laguerre Jr., 19, an employee at the store.
via nbcnews: Racist Jacksonville shooter wore Rhodesian army patch, a symbol of white supremacy, law enforcement sources say