JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The families of the three victims of the Aug. 26 racially motivated shooting at Dollar General are suing multiple LLCs associated with the company and the estate of the shooter, who died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
The lawsuit accuses Dollar General and security camera company Interface Security Systems of negligence. The lawsuit notes the shooter was deterred by security guards at a Family Dollar and Edward Waters University before entering the unmanned Dollar General and killing Angela Carr, A.J. Laguerre Jr. and Jerrald Gallion.
It states Dollar General, "negligently failed to hire persons, employees, companies, and/or agents reasonably suited for providing, implementing and maintaining proper security measures adequate to ensure the safety of its invitees and the public, including the areas of the premises where the subject incident occurred."
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration conducted a probe on the Kings Road Dollar General the same day as the shooting. A fatality and catastrophe inspection is still open, according to the agency's website.
The lawsuit lists the estate of the shooter, 21-year-old Ryan Palmeter, and his parents, Maryann and Stephen Palmeter, and said Palmeter struggled with mental health issues, and had been involuntarily committed under Florida’s Baker Act. The lawsuit said Palmeter's mother and father owed a duty of care to the general public to supervise Palmeter and they knew of his obsession with firearms and violence, referring to him as a "ticking time bomb."
"Photos from the lawsuit show Palmeter's room at his parents' Orange Park home, including alcohol and prescription medication, reading material regarding firearms and "The Christian and his Machine Gun" and "a picture of a deceased child on a road with a smiling teenage male in the foreground."
Attorneys for the Palmeter could not be reached for comment.
Lawyers Michael Haggard and Benjamin Crump will detail the negligent security wrongful death lawsuit filed Monday morning in civil court, the release said. They are planning a press conference 11 a.m. at the Doubletree Hotel downtown, 1201 Riverplace Blvd.