WATCH: Jacksonville Sheriff Rejects The Media's Anti-Gun Narrative In Powerful Moment - 'The Problem Is The Individual,' 'This Guy’s A Bad Guy'

In the aftermath of the tragic, racially motivated shooting at a Jacksonville Dollar General that killed Angela Michelle Carr, 52, Anolt Joseph “AJ” Laguerre Jr., 19, and Jerrald Gallion, 29, Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters made it crystal clear that the story isn't about guns, "The problem is the individual.”

That individual in question was the murderer Ryan Christopher Palmeter, 21, who killed the three black store patrons leaving behind racist writings and a weapon emblazoned with swastikas, CNN reported. 

According to Daily Wire, Waters said, “The story is always about guns — people are bad — this guy’s a bad guy,” Waters said. “If I could take my gun off right now, and I lay it on this counter, nothing will happen. It’ll sit there — but as soon as wicked person grabs ahold of that handgun and starts shooting people with it — there’s the problem.”

“The problem is the individual,” the sheriff added.

“Now guns are a tool that people use to do horrible things. But it’s the individuals that wield these things. So we are working hard to try to stop that. But in this situation, in this case, there was nothing saying—, there was nothing illegal about him owning the firearms.”

Speaking to CNN Waters confirmed “There’s no question” that the killings were motivated by racist hatred. “He hated Blacks, and I think he hated just about everyone that wasn’t White,” Waters added. “He made that very clear.”

The shootings took place at approximately 1 PM EDT Sunday when the murderer opened fire on a Black Kia at the nearby Dollar General in Jacksonville. He then entered the store and killed Laguerre, according to the sheriff. As the store's patrons and employees fled to the back exit, he pursued briefly but returned to the store to shoot at the security cameras. The third victim Gallion walked in with his girlfriend and was fatally shot.

Palmeter then texted his father telling him to look in his room where he would find a will and a suicide note. A minute later police arrived and entered the store as the murderer took his own life with a single shot. Waters ordered the release of two short pieces of footage. “I wanted the people to be able to see exactly what happened in this situation and just how sickening it is,” Waters said.

“He targeted a certain group of people and that’s Black people,” Waters told a press conference Saturday. “That’s what he said he wanted to kill. And that’s very clear … Any member of that race at that time was in danger.”