A violent weekend in Jacksonville leaves one dead and several injured after four separate shootings.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A violent weekend in Jacksonville left one person dead and several others injured after four separate shootings shook neighborhoods across the city.
One of the shootings turned deadly early Sunday morning on the Southside. The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office responded to the 8400 block of Gate Parkway West around 3 a.m., where a man in his 20s was found shot to death in an apartment complex at Jacksonville Southside.
“Been living here about almost four years, so definitely shocked, no shooting like that has happened at the time I’ve lived here,” said Edmund Leong, who has lived in the apartment complex where the shooting took place.
The victim’s identity has not been released. Investigators are working with the Medical Examiner’s Office and State Attorney’s Office to determine how the case will be classified.
Leong said he lives in the building next to where the shooting happened and was stunned when he saw the news.
“Yesterday when I saw the news report that someone had been killed at Kate apartments, I was pretty shocked so I wasn’t expecting that to happen in my neighborhood,” said Leong.
This was just one of four shootings reported across Jacksonville over the weekend. Police say other victims were found on Edgewood Avenue, Monaco Drive, and at Woodstock Park — where two teenagers were shot.
JSO is still investigating whether the incidents are connected. First Coast News Crime and safety expert Ken Jefferson says police are exploring all possibilities.
“The police are gonna investigate as whether or not any of these are related. Some of them could’ve been retaliatory shootings. I’m not saying it was, but they investigate that to see if it anyway related to each other. Some of them could or all of them could’ve been random we don’t know at this particular point,” Jefferson said.
Jefferson said even with police presence in neighborhoods, these types of crimes can be hard to prevent.
“We as citizens have just got to be cognizant of our surroundings at all times where we are with what we’re doing and just be very, very cautious and and always be on the defense,” Jefferson said.
As of Monday, no arrests have been made in connection to any of the shootings. JSO is urging anyone with information to contact the Sheriff’s Office or call Crime Stoppers at 1-866-845-TIPS.
