Dolly Butler is speaking one on one with Action News Jax after her son and father of three, John Levon Dawsey, 34, was shot and killed on Broadway Avenue.
“They took my baby from me,” said Butler. “That was my firstborn child.”
She tells Action News Jax reporter Ryan Nelson her son also leaves behind a wife after being shot on a sidewalk on Sunday.
Police told Nelson they were dispatched to the scene around 12:43 p.m. Sunday, saying Dawsey was being treated by Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department when they arrived on the scene. Investigators say he was taken to a local hospital, where he later died.
STORY: Man shot, killed while walking on sidewalk in Jacksonville neighborhood, police say
They told us "several" suspects may have been involved in Dawsey's killing. Butler says she hasn’t been able to sleep since losing her son.
“Y’all don’t give life,” said Butler. “How could you take life that you didn’t give?’’
Hours after the shooting that claimed Dawsey’s life, another shooting happened a few blocks away on Dennison Street. Two people were left with gunshot wounds, and a third person suffered a minor injury, not a gunshot wound.
#TONIGHT: I sat down with his mother this evening. She and Dawsey’s family are desperately seeking justice.
— Ryan Nelson (@RyanANJax) December 29, 2018
He leaves behind a wife and three kids. @ActionNewsJax @WOKVNews https://t.co/EpduTyccqj
The shootings happened just 0.3 miles apart and within a few hours of each other. Police told us Sunday they were investigating whether the shootings were linked.
We reached out to the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office tonight to learn if the incidents were linked and if any suspects have been identified or arrested in either incident.
JSO spokesperson Christian Hancock said in a statement Friday evening:
"The case you reference continues to be an active investigation. There is nothing new to disseminate – when new information becomes available it will pushed out."
STORY: Jacksonville police investigate second shooting off Broadway Avenue
As the investigation continues, Butler is asking what, if anything, can be done to remedy the violence that’s left many grieving this holiday season.
“These mothers can’t sleep, we can’t eat. They’re killing our kids like they’re animals,” said Butler. “Just killing them, shooting them down in the streets. Is it going to ever stop?”
Butler says she’s motivated to take a stand in the wake of the shooting. She tells Nelson she’s planning a community walk with activists MAD DADS of Jacksonville and says they will knock on doors and hand out flyers in the coming days.
"I'm going to search all over, high and low, and I'm going to find out who killed my son," said Butler.
First Coast Crime Stoppers tells us they have yet to receive a tip in this case. Investigators and family alike are asking anyone with information to come forward.
You may do so by contacting First Coast Crime Stoppers or the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office.
#NEW: Family identifies this man as 34 year old John Dawsey, who was shot and killed Sunday on a Broadway Avenue sidewalk in #Jacksonville. @ActionNewsJax @WOKVNews pic.twitter.com/mGBR2yagqd
— Ryan Nelson (@RyanANJax) December 29, 2018
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