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Armed robbery led to shots fired at shopping plaza near Beach and Hodges

Officers say a shootout at a busy shopping plaza in Jacksonville started with an armed robbery.

A witness told police that a group of men were eating outside at Panda Express Sunday when they got into a fight with another group of guys.

The police report says at some point, a man who was using a beanie to hide a handgun pushed one of the men and snatched his necklaces.

A second victim handed over his wallet to the suspect, according to the report.

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The report says the suspects walked away and got in their car as one of the victims grabbed a gun from his car.

It was described in the report as a handgun with an extended magazine.

Witnesses said they didn’t see who fired first. Families described dropping to the floor for cover as bullets hit six vehicles.

A storefront window at Nothing Bundt Cakes was shattered.

Police say the suspects and victims fled before officers got to the scene.

Two days after the shooting, JSO released a photo of two men and a car that they said were connected to a recent shooting.

Witnesses tell Action News Jax that the men in the photos appear to be men involved in the shootout Sunday.

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“I’ll never forget a face. When I looked at him, I knew,” one witness, who did not want to be identified, said.

She said she and her friend were feet away when one of the men involved pulled out a gun in the shopping plaza.

“He didn’t take any regard for anyone else, he just started shooting,” she said. JSO hasn’t named the people in the photo as victims or suspects, but they’re asking anyone who recognizes them or their car to call officers.