Duval County

Vigil held for Jacksonville teen at the intersection of police shooting

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Family, friends, and members of the community gathered at the intersection of San Juan and Cassat Avenues on Friday night to honor the memory of Devon Gregory.

Gregory, 18, died after a police shooting during a traffic stop at the intersection on Tuesday night.

“He was a good kid! Like, I never heard anything bad about him,” said Gregory’s cousin, Shane Rhiles.

Those in attendance chanted for justice and held balloons. Many wore red, which family says was Gregory’s favorite color.

Police released body camera video of the shooting on Thursday.

JSO says it released video from one officer’s body camera after learning the medical examiner found Gregory suffered a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Whether that wound was fatal remains under investigation.

The final 14 minutes of the video shows officers with guns drawn, as they’re trying to convince Gregory to show his hands. In that timespan, Gregory appears to be reaching underneath his seat.

In the final moments of the video, an initial gunshot is heard, and Gregory’s body appears to move backwards. Gunshots can be heard for about four seconds.

Gregory’s aunt, Elizabeth Ashford, tells Action News Jax she rushed to the scene after the shooting. She feels the incident could have ended without police opening fire.

“It’s always another way! They couldn’t talk to him nicely? Get him out? He’s a child!” said Ashford. “All y’all heads together couldn’t strategize, ‘Let’s get this baby out of here?’ However, you know why? Because they didn’t see him as a baby!”

Ashford says Gregory’s family wants clarity and the officers held accountable.

“We want, all the footage. We want answers. We want to know, what were they thinking? We want to know why weren’t they thinking? They just acted! They just reacted!” said Ashford.

Four officers are on administrative leave, which is standard protocol.

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