Dollar General pledges over $2.5M after Jacksonville shooting

Dollar General said it would donate more than $2.5 million to local organizations in the wake of last month’s shooting in which three people were killed in a racially motivated attack at a store in Jacksonville, Fla.

The company also said it plans to “fully remodel” the store and reopen it late this month or in early October.

As previously reported, the gunman killed a customer, an Uber driver who had just dropped off a customer, and a store manager at the Dollar General before taking his own life. Authorities said he harbored a hatred of Black people. All three victims — Angela Michelle Carr, Jerrald De’Shaun Gallion and Anolt Joseph “A.J.” Laguerre Jr. — were Black.

In addition to the $2.5 million-plus in donations, Dollar General also said it would continue to provide counseling resources and financial support for the families of the victims.

The donations will include $500,000 for the First Coast Relief Fund, which the company said will be used to support the Jacksonville community in both the near and long-term as it works to recover from the incident. Dollar General also pledged a matching donation of up to $1 million to its Employee Assistance Foundation, which supports the company’s workers in certain times of need.

An additional $1 million will go to support nonprofit and community organizations and will be informed by conversations with the local community about how the funds can be used to help the community heal and rebuild, the company said in a statement.

Related:New details emerge from deadly Dollar General shooting

“The entire DG family continues to mourn the senseless, hate-driven loss of life that took place last weekend,” said Jeff Owen, Dollar General’s CEO. “Our focus continues to be on supporting the victims’ families, our employees, and their loved ones, alongside how we can best support and stand with the greater Jacksonville community. The actions we are taking are in an effort to begin to heal together.”

Dollar General is also donating $50,000 to local area food banks to help address any food insecurity issues while it remodels the store.

The company said it plans to continue evaluating how it can best support employees, the victims’ families and the greater Jacksonville community, and is also “working towards extending counseling services to the broader community,” the company said in a statement.

Following another racially motivated shooting last year at a Tops Friendly Markets store in Buffalo, N.Y., the retailer remodeled the store and reopened it after two months, complete with a memorial to the victims inside the store. The company also set up a Buffalo 5/14 Survivors Fund for victims and their families, and took other steps to engage the community.