NEW DELHI: After being booed by hundreds of mourners gathered to mourn a racially motivated attack in Florida, governor Ron DeSantis has announced to give $1 million for increasing the security of a historically black college.
The Republican presidential candidate DeSantis said on Monday that his administration would give $1 million to Edward Waters University to enhance its security. This decision was taken after the gunman of the racist killings in Jacksonville tried to enter the historically black college but was denied entry.
Additionally, DeSantis announced that his administration will also donate $100,000 to charity for victims’ families.
“As I’ve said for the last couple of days, we are not going to allow our HBCUs to be targeted by these people”, DeSantis said. “We’re going to provide security help with them”, he added.
It is speculated that this funding measure was introduced after governor DeSantis faced allegations of being a ‘racist’ and limiting black history education in Florida.
DeSantis has also faced criticism for his support of expanded gun access in the state. The Florida governor signed legislation in April that allows residents to carry concealed guns without permit.
It is notable that DeSantis was booed while speaking at a memorial to remember the victims of the Dollar General shooting.
The police have confirmed that the 21-year-old gunman left behind several manifestos that invoked racist slurs. The police also added that the rifle used in the attacks also had a Nazi symbol painted on it.
The US justice department announced on Sunday that the shooting would be investigated as a hate crime.
(with inputs from agencies)