JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — It was another violent 12 hours in Duval County. Deputies with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office have responded to five shootings from 11:35 p.m. Saturday until Sunday morning. JSO Sheriff candidates respond with how they will prevent future incidents.
The shootings happened all across town-- from the Northwest of Jacksonville to the Southside.
At Lakeside Apartment homes, a young man was found dead behind one of the buildings. Police said the victim was shot multiple times. Gunshots woke up neighbors during the night.
The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office found a young man with several gunshot wounds behind a building.
“I was in bed around 12:30 p.m. and at 12:45 p.m. I heard five gunshots. Pop, pop, pop, pop, pop,” a resident told Action News Jax.
“That individual was pronounced dead on the scene,” says Sergeant Cayenne.
As investigators work to identify the shooting victim, they also have to investigate four other shootings.
At 10 p.m. Saturday, a man was found shot to death in a parking lot on Wonderwood Lane in Mayport following what is reported to have been an argument.
Around the same time Saturday night, three women were shot at a block party in the 3100 block of Boulevard. They were shot in areas ranging from the back, leg and arm. Police say they’ll survive.
Fifteen minutes later on the Westside, a 44-year-old man was shot in the back while riding his bike on Blanding Boulevard. Reports indicate that he went to a nearby gas station to call for help and will recover.
The Southside Boulevard shooting happened just after 2 a.m.
Then at 8:15 a.m., another shooting was reported at 21st Street and Moncrief.
“A 41-year-old black male sustained a gunshot wound to the chest. JFRD responded to the scene, and transported this individual to a local hospital where he’s undergoing surgery for non-life-threatening injuries,” says Sergeant Catir.
Police tell us there are no suspects in any of these crimes. At this time, we are still working to see if any of these cases are related as they are being investigated by different crews within JSO.
Anyone with information about the incident is asked to contact JSO via the non-emergency number 904-630-0500, the JSO Crime Tips email (JSOcrimetips@jaxsheriff.org) or via Crimestoppers.
Action News Jax has reached out to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office candidates to get their input on these recent shootings and how they would prevent future violence.
Candidate Chief Lakesha Burton: “Everyone in our city deserves to feel safe, and day after day, we only hear of more violence. Now more than ever we should be demanding a change in how our public safety works because, frankly, it is not working. As sheriff, I will enforce the law. We need to arrest those who break the law. I will also make changes to focus more on prevention and intervention so we can stop crimes from happening in the first place. If we are ever going to see real change, we need someone who will work with the community to provide long-term solutions. I will bring a new perspective to addressing crime from a comprehensive approach. I did that as zone commander and I will do it as the next sheriff.”
Candidate Ken Jefferson: “Reducing violent crime requires proactivity and visibility. As sheriff, I’ll be on the streets working alongside officers. The way we police will be a three-prong strategy: heavy presence and saturation in high-crime areas, using intelligence data to drive decision making, monitoring to see what’s working the most effectively citywide, consistent communication with citizens for transparency.”
Candidate Chief T.K. Waters: “This weekend’s violence is another stark reminder of our community’s need for more officers on the streets. To keep the families of Jacksonville safe, we must increase our patrols, continue to invest in prevention programs, and target violent gangs and criminals for prosecution.”
Action News Jax spoke with Wayne Clark over the phone. Clark said he wants to see a return to intelligence, data-based policing and a push to improve public trust. Action News Jax has scheduled an interview with him later this week to talk more about it.
Dr. Tony Cummings: “As your sheriff, I plan to get out in front of this issue by redirecting the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office manpower, with the utmost respect for the community, to areas of the city paralyzed by the violent crime. In a three-phase rollout, I will first direct officers in uniform and their supervisors to those hotspots where the most violence is occurring for a sustained presence geared at calming and informing the citizens. Second, I plan to expand the role of the Community Affairs Division to conduct more positive outreach operations in those areas to rebuild the public’s trust in our agency’s agility to keep them safe. And third, I plan to have our covert operations deploy in the areas to directly engage, with pinpoint precision, violent offenders. These three things will happen simultaneously to reduce the gun violence once I am sheriff.”
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