JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — One man is dead, and another is in the hospital after a shooting in the parking lot of an Edgewood shopping center on Wednesday night.
Action News Jax has confirmed the man who was killed is Corey Denmark and uncovered records showing the shopping center has been a hotspot for crime this year.
Paxon Liquors and Lounge manager Josie Sakoo showed us surveillance video captured by the business’s cameras.
It appears to show people running for cover behind cars in the parking lot.
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Shortly after, a man hobbles on one foot near the front of the store.
Sakoo said the shooting is just the latest in a long string of incidents at the shopping center.
Records show JSO has responded to more than 100 calls for service in the shopping center this year alone.
Many of those calls are related to violent incidents like fights, armed disputes, hit-and-run accidents, and assaults.
“We’re getting hurt because our customers don’t even feel comfortable sometimes coming in just because there’s heavy traffic outside. They know they’re not our regular customers. It’s just an uncomfortable feeling,” said Sakoo.
Councilmember Tyrona Clark-Murray (D-District 9), who represents this area, said she’s gotten many complaints from neighbors about this shopping plaza and is considering options to force the owner to make changes.
“The steps that I can take as a council representative is to refer the situation to the what we call PNAB, which is the Public Nuisance and Abatement Board, and what they can do is some legal restraints on the property owner,” said Clark-Murray.
JSO seems to lay the blame for the frequent calls on Paxon Liquors and Lounge.
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“Patrons will frequent the Paxon Liquors Lounge, which is a package store and bar. Some individuals will often congregate in the parking lot while playing car stereos loudly, or revving their engines, spinning their tires, and doing burnouts,” said JSO District 5 Commander Harry Massey in an emailed statement.
JSO also said it has conducted more than 20 deployments to the shopping center to deter late-night behavior by some patrons and has told management at Paxon Liquors and Lounge to advise their patrons to stay inside and not congregate on the sidewalk and in the parking lot.
Sakoo disputes that the issues have been caused by her customers, noting she’s been in business for 25 years and the problems only started within the last two years after a nearby nightclub burned down.
She also emphasized that Wednesday’s deadly shooting did not have anything to do with her business.
She said she hopes to see everyone come together to come up with a solution.
“I think JSO and the city need to be on the same page with the landlord and help them out to have more presence in the neighborhoods like ours, because our neighborhood deserves that,” said Sakoo.
Action News Jax is trying to get in contact with the owner of the shopping center.
We’ve emailed the person identified as the registered agent for the LLC that is listed as the owner of the shopping plaza, but haven’t heard back.
JSO did note as a result of the owner recently hiring more security, loitering at the shopping plaza has been reduced.
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