A tragic incident unfolded on Wednesday at a bustling construction site in Silverleaf, resulting in one fatality and two injuries. This marks the first criminal homicide in over a year for St. Johns County, Florida, a community that has prided itself on its safety record.
The St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office swiftly responded to the situation, apprehending 20-year-old Yovany Lopez Cobo. The shooting reportedly arose from a confrontation at the construction site within the expanding SilverLeaf neighborhood.
Currently, the area near Johns Island Parkway is a hive of construction activity, with new homes being built at a rapid pace and workers scattered throughout. The timing of the incident was disconcerting for many, including a worker who narrowly missed the chaos.
“I’ve been in the SilverLeaf neighborhood pretty much since it’s come about,” shared Aaron Winters, who was busy installing a security camera at a nearby residence when the shooting occurred.
Winters, an experienced professional with HabiTech Systems, has installed numerous security systems in Silverleaf over his decade-long career. Despite his extensive work in the area, he expressed his shock, noting that he had never encountered a shooting so close to one of his job sites.
Aaron Winters has installed countless security cameras all around Silverleaf in his 10 years on the job with HabiTech Systems, but he says he’s never had a shooting right near one of his job sites.
That changed Wednesday, with the shooting just up the road from the home he’s working on.
“I’ve seen arguments on job sites and stuff, but I’ve never even seen anything come to blows, or having a fight or anything,” said Winters. “I would say, I’ve always felt this was a really safe area of town. It’s really heartbreaking to hear.”
The St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office says it started with an argument between coworkers at a construction site on Johns Island Parkway that ended with gunshots.
The sheriff’s office arrested Cobo at a gas station about a half hour after the shooting and charged him with second-degree murder.
The shooting happened just as the work day came to an end, meaning many of the folks who live around where Winters was working were greeted by a wall of flashing lights on their return home.
“My wife was driving back in,” Adam Jackson, who lives nearby, said. “She saw a deputy giving CPR to what was apparently one of the victims.”
Jackson says that’s an image that will stick with his wife, especially since, like so many of their neighbors, they’ve only just moved into the neighborhood that’s still under construction.
“It’s a new neighborhood. It’s a safe neighborhood, not really something that goes on around here,” said Jackson.”
In fact, St. Johns County went through all of 2025 without a criminal homicide, according to the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office. There were two deadly officer-involved shootings, the agency said, but the deputies were determined to be justified in their use of force.
“Didn’t know that about St. Johns County,” said Jackson. “Everyone comes here for the schools. You don’t think about the safety part. It’s crazy, one, that that hasn’t happened and two, being so close, but I think the likelihood of it occurring again is probably low. We’re not worried or anything.”
The St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office reports the two who were injured are expected to recover.
