Jacksonville City councilmember Reggie Gaffney calls for two northside hotels to be shut down

Jacksonville, FL. — Community members in one Jacksonville Northside neighborhood are demanding for an end to the violence.

Action News Jax Alicia Tarancon reported that city leaders are calling on Mayor Lenny Curry and Sheriff Mike Williams to help reduce crime in the area.

Victoria Blackman lives in the area code 32218 and she says she’s tired of all the shootings.

“This type of violence and crime that has infiltrated this area is absolutely just not acceptable,” Blackman said.

That’s why she held up signs with other community members to try and combat the violence.

Our Action News Jax Sky Vision Drone flew over Harts Road to give you a look at how many people came out to take a stand.

Councilmember Reggie Gaffney stood at the podium just a few feet away from where a man was killed Saturday morning in front of River City Inn.

The victim was found inside a car after being shot multiple times. Police told Action News Jax they don’t have a suspect.

Gaffney told Tarancon from Sept. 2019 to Sept 2020 there’s been over 600 calls for service at the Gold Rush Inn.

The councilmember said he’s also working on forming a task force with representatives in Tallahassee to see if River City Inn and Gold Rush Inn could be shut down.

He said the hotels contribute to prostitution, drugs, and murders in the area.

In the last year Gaffney told Action News Jax that there’s been least eight people who have been killed at those two hotels.

Tarancon reached out to River City Inn and Gold Rush Inn to see if they could comment on the violence but she was told the managers weren’t in around noon on Monday.

Gaffney told Action News Jax he’s reaching out to Curry and Williams for ways to reduce the violence in his district, District 7.

“Regardless of what happens today, we’re going to put a camera on these [light] poles. Whereabout, I’m not sure yet. That’s going to be up to JSO,” Gaffney said.

Pastor Michael Jackson says he would like to see more police officers in the neighborhood to help curb the violence.

“When we took out the police, our community policing, crime started creeping right back in and we’re saying to our city council member Reggie Gaffney, saying to our mayor, we’re saying to our sheriff, we pay taxes too and we want policing over here,” Pastor Jackson said.

Cox Media Group