Biden denounces Jacksonville shooting: ‘White supremacy has no place in America’

President Biden on Sunday denounced the shooting in Jacksonville, Fla., this weekend that officials are describing as “racially motivated.”

“Even as we continue searching for answers, we must say clearly and forcefully that white supremacy has no place in America,” Biden said in a statement, noting that a federal civil rights investigation has opened up and is investigating the incident as a possible hate crime and act of domestic violent extremism.

“We must refuse to live in a country where Black families going to the store or Black students going to school live in fear of being gunned down because of the color of their skin. Hate must have no safe harbor. Silence is complicity and we must not remain silent,” Biden continued. “Jill and I are praying for the victims and their families, and we grieve with the people of Jacksonville.”

On Saturday, a white gunman opened fire at a store near a historically Black university in Jacksonville, Fla., and killed three Black people. Officials quickly described the incident as “racially motivated.”

In a statement, Biden noted the significance of the timing of the shooting, which took place at the end of the day commemorating the 60th anniversary of the March on Washington.

“On Saturday, our nation marked the 60th Anniversary of the March on Washington — a seminal moment in our history and in our work towards equal opportunity for all Americans. But this day of remembrance and commemoration ended with yet another American community wounded by an act of gun violence, reportedly fueled by hate-filled animus and carried out with two firearms,” Biden said.

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