JSO: Investigation into possible burglary seen on Facebook Live ends with officer shooting man

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A man was taken to a hospital overnight after he was shot by a police officer on the city’s Northwest, according to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office.

Feb. 2 Update: The shooting happened just before 10 p.m. Tuesday. Police said they were notified of the burglary from Facebook Live.

One resident in the area, who didn’t want to be identified, said he heard the chaos unfold.

“I was laying in the bed, and I heard about four gunshots,” he said.

The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office said the entire incident began when a family was watching their son’s Facebook Live and saw three men wearing masks with guns inside their house while they weren’t home.

The family called 911 thinking their house was being burglarized. When officers showed up, the three suspects ran and dropped several guns in the process.

What happened next turned part of a neighbor’s front yard into the scene of a police pursuit.

“By the time I came to the front window I saw police officers running across the yard and they tackled somebody out there and that’s pretty much it. Come outside and there was a gun laying in the yard,” the unidentified neighbor said, who claimed he saw a 9-millimeter handgun in his yard. “I see police cars, they block the road off and they had my yard cut off in three sections.”

JSO told Action News Jax one officer could be heard saying, “drop the gun” more than once when he shot the man, leaving him in critical condition.

In response to Action News Jax’s query of what occurred during that dangerous encounter, which caused the officer to pull the trigger, a spokesperson said:

“We are very early into, and this continues to be an active investigation. Outside of what Chief Waters disseminated last night, we have not been provided anything further to release. As information becomes available, we will push it out to everyone.”

Action News Jax Law and Safety Expert, Dale Carson, who has years of experience in the FBI and police, said pulling the trigger is a split-second decision.

“If someone is still holding on a gun there’s every expectation he’s going to point at you and pull the trigger and we don’t know where that bullet is going to go,” Carson said. “There’s no way to know, so police officers have to protect themselves and so doing, protect the rest of the public.”

Police said those suspects were making some sort of video before this happened.

Neighbor Ira Means said he also woke up to yje sound of gunshots.

“I heard somebody say he got shot in the chest,” Means said.

All of the residents said this area doesn’t usually have problems and the shooting happened too close to home.

“It’s a scary situation right outside my door but that’s part of life,” the unidentified neighbor said.

Police said three semi-automatic guns were recovered from the area as well.

The State Attorney’s Office is investigating the incident.

Original Story:

JSO police were involved in a shooting Tuesday evening on Spring Grove Ave. and MacLean Rd.

Multiple police sources tell Action News Jax three suspects are in custody, one was shot by a JSO officer. JSO confirmed the suspect was taken to the hospital.

No officers were harmed in the altercation.

Citizens are encouraged to avoid the area at this time.

Action News Jax will continue to monitor the situation and keep you updated as events unfold.

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