JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A man was shot and killed Sunday night in a shooting on Jacksonville’s Westside.
This happened around 10:25 p.m. on Ramona Boulevard off Faith Memorial Drive near Interstate 10 at the Victory Pointe Apartments.
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With Independence Day around the corner, resident and concerned mom Bre Gilmore mistook what she heard.
“I heard about five gunshots. At first I thought it was fireworks,” Gilmore said.
When the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office arrived, they found an unidentified man between the age of 20 and 25 years old suffering from multiple gunshot wounds lying in the playground area of the complex.
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The Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department arrived on scene and pronounced the man dead, JSO said.
“This is the first time we’ve ever seen a dead body out here,” Gilmore said. “I live here with my son and I wanna raise him to a good future and around good people and see that the world is in a terrible place and it doesn’t have to be at least.”
“I mean, I’m pretty shaken up, it’s sad. No one should ever have to lose their life over, I’m assuming, something stupid. It always is,” Caleb VanSickle who was visiting the complex, said.
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JSO’s Homicide Unit and Crime Scene Unit responded to the scene and conducted an investigation. Meanwhile, Gilmore had an emotional message to the community which she — and neighbors — say is no stranger to gun violence.
“We need better people, people that kind of want to help others. This is all we got, y’all. We have to make the best of it. You have to support each other,” Gilmore said through tears.
If you have any info, JSO is asking you to contact them or call crime stoppers at 866-845-TIPS.
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Action News Jax’s camera also captured a police presence, crime scene unit vehicle, and detectives interviewing a witness at a nearby gas station on Ramona Boulevard and Lane Avenue South.
A person in that area told us there was a large gathering that erupted in gunfire at the gas station last night around the same time as the apartment complex shooting. The witness said those involved left the gas station for another place nearby.
JSO said that call was a reported discharging of a firearm at a person, but was not related to the shooting at the Victory Pointe apartments. We are working to learn more details.
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