Neighbors describe police shooting on Westside

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The startling sound of gunfire sent shock waves through a Westside community. 

"I hit the ground," said one neighbor. 

"Pop, pop, pop," described another neighbor. 

Neighbors we spoke to couldn't tell if the gunfire came from one gun or several  but we do know that two Jacksonville Sheriff's Officers were involved in a shooting that ended in the death of a local man.  

"The cop said 'this is a suicide mission.' He said basically the guy called and said 'if nobody don't come out here and shoot him he's going to shoot up the neighborhood and make them shoot him,'" said a neighbor. 

Police rushed in and the armed man was surrounded. Neighbors described what they heard next. 

"'Come out, surrender and put your hands up,'" said the neighbor. That order was repeated at least three times, according to the neighbor who believes officers were defending themselves.

JSO told Action News that the suspect ran outside, saw police, ran back inside to retrieve a weapon and pointed it at officers. 

"If police tell me to come out with my hands up, I'm going to come out with my hands up. Not with no gun," said the neighbor.  

JSO said the two deputies fired a total of seven rounds. This is the ninth reported officer-involved shooting this year. Three of them ended in death.

WJAX