Residents of Jacksonville’s Westside are growing increasingly concerned over a shopping center that has become notorious for late-night crime and disturbances. This anxiety was tragically heightened last week when a man was shot and killed in the parking lot of the Paxon Shopping Center, a place that has become a focal point for local unrest.
According to data from the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, the situation at the shopping center has been escalating. Since the beginning of 2025, law enforcement has been dispatched there more than 100 times. These incidents range from noise complaints and brawls to more serious confrontations involving weapons.
Local residents, such as a nearby mother of two, express their deepening unease. “It’s difficult to feel safe in a place where there’s so much activity happening so close by,” she explained, noting that disturbances are particularly rampant during late nights and weekends.
She added, “Lots of noise, lots of music, loud, loud music. I had my mom visit and she couldn’t even sleep during the weekend because of the noise.” The persistent disturbances have left many in the community questioning their safety and seeking solutions to restore peace and order in their neighborhood.
“It’s difficult to feel safe in a place where there’s so much activity happening so close by,” said a mother of two who lives nearby. She says late nights and weekends are the worst.
“Lots of noise, lots of music, loud, loud music,” she said. “I had my mom visit and she couldn’t even sleep during the weekend because of the noise.”
According to JSO records, out of the more than 100 calls made to the area this year, there were 26 disputes, four involving weapons, seven noise complaints and five fights. The most recent deadly shooting claimed the life of Corey Denmark.
“Very alarming,” the mother said. “People know the drill, they disperse and then come back. We just want the issue to be taken more seriously.”
District 5 Commander Harry Massey says the Paxon Shopping Center has long been a property where JSO receives numerous complaints and calls for service.
He says patrons will frequent the liquor store. Some individuals will often congregate in the parking lot while playing car stereos loudly, or revving their engines, spinning their tires and doing burnouts.
He went on to say most of the complaints and calls for service occur late at night.
The sheriff’s office dispatches calls for service on a priority scale wherein shootings, robberies, physical violence, burglaries in progress and crashes with injuries have the highest priority. As a result, a noise complaint for this property will be dispatched and responded to by JSO as soon as an officer is available to address it.
He said during the last year, officers conducted more than 20 deployments in and around the Paxon Shopping Center area in an attempt to deter the late-night behavior by some patrons.
The deployments resulted in people receiving verbal warnings, traffic citations, notice to appear citations, and trespass warnings. As a result of business owners hiring private security, the loitering in the parking lot has been reduced.
JSO has spoken with management at the liquor store advise customers to stay inside the business and not congregate on the sidewalks and parking lot.
They also advised management to call JSO if they have any issues with people congregating in the parking lot so we can address issues before it becomes a larger problem.
“Patrol officers will continue to frequent the area and conduct further deployments at the shopping center if necessary to curtail any nuisance/criminal violations,” Massey said in a statement.
Despite the repeated problems, some say they don’t feel unsafe.
“I feel safe as hell coming here,” said Akeem Nelson, who frequents the shopping center. “Usually everybody’s just up here drinking, minding their business, doing whatever they do after they get off work. That’s really it.”
First Coast News visited the liquor store in person, but management declined to comment.
Nelson said he believes much of what happens in the area stems from personal disputes that spill out into public spaces.
“You can’t put safety measures in place when people have stuff going on in their own lives that just so happen to go down in the shopping plaza,” he said.
Still, many neighbors say they want stronger action and more consistent peace of mind.
“We’re just wanting some safety, some security and some peace of mind,” the mother said. “We’re planning to reinforce our own security here, for our own sake, and especially for the kids who want to play outside. We want to feel that they’re safe.”
