Shooter who 'hated black people' had swastika painted on his AR-15 rifle, killed 3 at Dollar General store in Florida

• A racially-motivated killer gunned down three black people in a Florida convenience store.
• The weapons he used had swastikas painted on them, and he left "hateful" manifestos behind.
• The FBI is investigating the shocking incident as a hate crime. 

A gunman who killed three black people at a Florida convenience store was motivated by racism, the local sheriff confirmed. 

The white shooter drove from Clay County to a predominantly African-American neighborhood of Jacksonville, where he opened fire at a Dollar General. He fatally shot two men and one woman before killing himself with a self-inflicted gunshot wound. 

The gunman was armed with a Glock and an AR-15, which was painted with a swastika, police said. He also left "several manifestos" said to describe his ideology of hate, the New York Times reports.

The racially-motivated attack prompted heavy police and SWAT response in Northwest Jacksonville.

"To plainly put, this shooting was racially motivated, and he hated black people," Jacksonville Sheriff TK Waters said. "This is a dark day in Jacksonville. Any loss of life is tragic, but the hate that motivated the shooter's killing spree adds an additional layer of heartbreak."

Shortly before the shooting, the unidentified culprit was seen putting on his vest and mask at Edward Waters University, a small historically black college.

Donna Deegan, Jacksonville's mayor, said: "This is a community that has suffered again and again. So many times this is where we end up," the Times reports. "This is something that should not and must not continue to happen in our community."

"I am sickened by this cowardly shooter's personal ideology," said Sheriff Waters, adding that the investigation would continue and that the shooter's home is being searched.

The FBI is investigating the shocking incident as a hate crime, NBC reports.

Sherri Onks, special agent in charge of the Jacksonville FBI office, said: "Hate crimes are always and will always remain a top priority for the FBI because they are not only an attack on a victim, they're also meant to threaten and intimidate an entire community," according to Jacksonville media.