US President Joe Biden reacted to the Jacksonville shooting incident, which is being investigated by authorities as a racially motivated attack, and said 'white supremacy' has no place in the country.
Using strong words, Biden said: "Even as we continue searching for answers, we must say clearly and forcefully that white supremacy has no place in America."
"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 colour of their skin. Hate must have no safe harbour," he said.
According to reports, a White man, who was identified as 21-year-old Ryan Christopher Palmeter, used a swastika-emblazoned assault rifle to kill three Black people at a Dollar General store on Saturday in Jacksonville in Florida.
Biden said: "Silence is complicity and we must not remain silent."
Biden mentioned that the incident happened on a day when the country was observing the 60th Anniversary of the March on Washington. The purpose of the march, which was held in 1963, was to advocate for the civil and economic rights of African Americans.
The gunman killed three people before killing himself in Jacksonville, Florida, on Saturday, an incident that has triggered criticisms across the country.
Vice-President Kamala Harris said in a statement, "As we allow that investigation to proceed, let us continue to speak truth about the moment we are in: America is experiencing an epidemic of hate. Too many communities have been torn apart by hatred and violent extremism."
"Too many families have lost children, parents, and grandparents. Too many Black Americans live every day with the fear that they will be victims of hate-fueled gun violence—at school, at work, at their place of worship, at the grocery store," she said.
Kamala Harris said every person in every community in America should have the freedom to live safe from gun violence.
"Congress must help secure that freedom by banning assault weapons and passing other common sense gun safety legislation," she said.
The Justice Department is currently investigating the case as a 'hate crime'.
Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement: "Yesterday in Jacksonville, Florida, three people were killed in a horrific act of hate. In the wake of the mass shooting, FBI and ATF agents responded to the scene and are continuing to work closely with local law enforcement on the ground."
"The Justice Department is investigating this attack as a hate crime and an act of racially motivated violent extremism," Garland said.
