Suspect dead after officer-involved shooting near Oceanway

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A man is dead after refusing to drop a shotgun during a dispute at a home on Shims Road, according to Jacksonville police.

JSO Officer Howard Smith, who is a 27-year veteran of the department, fatally shot the suspect, a man in his late 20s or early 30s. Neighbors identified him as Jacob Depetris. Action News Jax is working to confirm the details with police.

Neighbors reported hearing shots fired around 5:30 a.m. Thursday.

According to JSO, two people living in a home on Shims Road encountered the suspect, who threatened to kill them.

Police say Depetris fired through their door, but when he tried to shoot the people inside, his gun jammed.

The two people in the home called JSO. Responding officers found the suspect in a common driveway that links the home to a trailer on the property.

JSO said Smith used a car-mounted spotlight to spot the suspect, who was also carrying a bottle of liquor.

"(The suspect) raised it quite high in pointing it at the officer,” JSO Undersheriff Ivey said. “The officer discharged his weapon, we know of twice.”

This is Smith’s first officer-involved shooting, Ivey said.

A woman who lives across the street from where the deadly home invasion took place, and who didn’t want to be identified, said a man and a woman live in the home.

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“They’re real good people. They are very good people,” she said.

The neighbor said she has no idea who the man is and why he threatened to kill her friends.

“I’m pretty sure they’re devastated right now,” the woman said.

The woman said her friends kept to themselves and had no known enemies.

“They don’t bother anybody, they work and go home. Her kids are good kids, too,” she said.

Cox Media Group