Family of Dollar General shooting victim files new lawsuit

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Angela Carr was a 52-year-old Uber driver who was dropping off a passenger at a Dollar General in Jacksonville on August 26, 2023, when a gunman shot her in her vehicle.

A year after her death, Carr's family is still searching for justice and change.

“We are getting stronger as a family. We are doing our best, but it is hard without the rock that was always there for us and really made us whole when we needed it,” said Vaughn Payne, Carr's son.

Payne has returned to Jacksonville from Virginia and is fighting for justice in the city where his mother died a year ago.

“I got a call from a friend of hers telling me she wasn't answering her phone,” he said, recalling the day. “She wasn't answering her phone and there was a shooter in the store.”

Later that night, Payne received a call from the police that would change his life and that of his siblings forever.

“The next morning it dawned on us and from then on nothing was the same. Everything was hard, even coming to terms with things was hard for me at first because I couldn't believe it. I didn't want to believe it,” said Payne.

“These are three children of a wonderful woman, all suffering in very different ways,” said John Phillips, the Carr family's attorney.

Phillips has already filed a lawsuit against the shooter's parents, claiming they claimed parental negligence. He claims the “parents were aware of Palmeter's mental health issues and hatred toward others.”

“It's about responsibility. The first step to responsibility is the shooter and his parents,” Phillips said.

A second lawsuit will soon be filed against Dollar General over security measures.

“What happened here was a shooter left two locations where he saw security personnel and went to a third where he saw none, and that's why Dollar General will be the defendant,” he said.

“We can't just talk. We can't just think and pray our way out of this. We have to look closely at what's going on. This is a classic case of systemic racism and hate,” Phillips said.

As he fights for justice and change, Payne says he feels his mother by his side every step of the way.

“She whispers in my ear that I can't screw this up and that we just have to get better. It gives me strength to even be here and do this,” he said.

The Carr family’s lawyer tells News from First Coast However, he plans to file further lawsuits in this case, including against the weapons manufacturer.