JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Monday marks one year since a racially motivated shooting at a Jacksonville Dollar General left three people dead.
Anolt "AJ" Laguerre Jr., Angela Carr and Jerrald Gallion were killed on Aug. 26, 2023, after a gunman stormed a Dollar General in Jacksonville's Grand Park neighborhood.
Sunday afternoon, city leaders and community members gathered at Kings Road Memorial Park for an event to honor the victims and support survivors of the shooting.
“I didn’t know what to think of it at first to be honest, until I realized after a few minutes what happened," said April Bridges, who attended the ceremony.
Bridges says she had just left the Dollar General on Kings Road when she heard gunshots and saw people running out the front door.
She had no idea that would be the last time she’d see her friend, AJ Laguerre.
“AJ and me was real close," said Bridges. "He literally, two weeks before the shooting, looked at me and told me about his first kiss.”
It’s been a year since that horrific memory for Bridges, and three crosses still stand at Grand Park to honor Laguerre and the other two victims, Angela Carr and Jerrald Gallion.
Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan spoke at the anniversary ceremony about the effort to memorialize the victims.
“In the wake of such tragedy, it is natural to seek answers and try to prevent it from ever happening again," said Deegan. "We must continue to confront the ideologies and ideologs that fuel such hatred.”
Deegan unveiled renderings of a historical marker, that will be a permanent tribute to the victims at Grand Park.
"I felt and feel a personal responsibility that this horrific act of violence happened under my watch in the city we all love," Deegan said. "I remember thinking to myself, ‘We can’t let this become another thing that happens, that we talk about, and then we just move on.'”
Survivors of the shooting and families of the victims filled jars full of soil from the Dollar General site.
A group of volunteers are collecting soil from sites where racially motivated killings have happened in Jacksonville, dating back to the 1800s.
“We’ve tried focusing on the future without looking back for 400 years," said Alex Rudnick from the Jax Community Remembrance Project. "History has shown us that we have to listen to her.”
Bridges still has to face the history and heartbreaking memories of her friend AJ every time she enters the Dollar General.
“I have been in there because it’s the closest store, but to be honest, it’s painful to even do it," she said.
The historical marker is expected to be at the park in a few weeks.
Council member Ju’Coby Pittman said they’ll have a memorial ceremony annually for at least as long as she’s on the city council.
Watch the event in the video player above.