JACKSONVILLE BEACH, Fla. – About 12 hours after one person was killed and three others were injured in three unrelated shootings Sunday night in downtown Jacksonville Beach, Mayor Christine Hoffman praised the quick response of police and local businesses.
Jacksonville Beach Police Chief Gene Paul Smith explained Monday morning that the first shooting was reported at 7:50 p.m., the second incident was around 8:13 p.m. and the third was at 8:31 p.m. Smith called for an “active incident” lockdown of the downtown bar district as officers looked for the shooters and tried to get the crowds to safety.
Smith said because of the increased presence of law enforcement to help with large crowds for St. Patrick’s Day, Spring Break and The Players Championship, officers responded within seconds to each shooting. None of the shooters have been arrested.
“I think one of the important points in terms of the timeline of the three distinctly separate shootings was that the response time was little to none on all three of the occurrences. Our officers were there. They anticipated. Our mutual aid partners were here very quickly,” Hoffman said. “We’re an intelligence-based agency here, so they really keep an eye on things on social media and things like that to kind of anticipate the crowds.”
Smith said his agency had received a tip about a large planned gathering at the pier and officers were assigned to the area, where anywhere from 250-400 young people showed up. Officers broke up the crowd when they began engaging in boxing matches and fights, and that’s when the first shooting happened, Smith said.
“I think that the proactive intelligence gathering at the beginning, monitoring the situation during and then the very quick response I’m really proud of our police department as well as our mutual aid partners for helping to provide that,” Hoffman said. “We’re a public beach. We’re a city that attracts a large crowd of people through not just Spring Break but throughout the year. It’s a great place to come and relax and have fun.”
READ | 1 dead, 3 hurt in 3 separate shootings in downtown Jacksonville Beach during busy St. Patrick’s Day
Hoffman said the three shootings happening on a busy holiday weekend that coincided with the end of The Players Championship placed Jacksonville Beach in the international spotlight.
“We are under a bit of a microscope out here because we do not have incidents like that so we’re getting a lot more attention than maybe other areas would,” Hoffman said. “Statistically we are a very safe community.”
She called the senseless violence and tragic loss of life “disappointing and saddening.”
“All of the emotions at once. But I’m also really proud of our police department,” Hoffman said. “And our business owners who helped to ensure the safety of their patrons. Everybody really worked together and responded very quickly. So I think, to me, that quick response and the quick action by our police department should be reassuring to our visitors.”
Many businesses in the bar district acted quickly to secure their patrons as police ordered the lockdown.
Casey Jones told News4JAX he was at Lynch’s Irish Pub about a block away from the first shooting commotion and had some friends down at Surfer The Bar.
“They were supposed to meet us. It was crazy,” Jones said. “What they said is when it happened that management rushed them up to the second level; they put stuff in the windows. I don’t know what they put in the windows, but it’s really nice that the bars were prepared for this and the way they took care of us.”
Jones said at Lynch’s, the management “did a great job” of pulling everyone inside off the patio and locking the doors.
Evan Rajta, whose family owns SALT in Jacksonville Beach, said his staff helped a wounded bystander.
“My whole staff was prepared and we have armed security. We were well-prepared. We helped the gentleman that was shot, our staff did,” Rajta said. “Our head of security had some medical gear on him and they helped him out.”
A young woman who was at SALT when the chaos broke out said less than 5 minutes after she and her group walked into the bar, everyone was yelling “Get down!” so they dropped to the floor and then heard gunshots outside.
She said everyone stayed down until it was safe to run out of the bar.
Mayor Hoffman joined Chief Smith in asking for anyone who has information, cellphone video or social media video of the shootings to please contact the Jacksonville Beach Police Department at 904-270-1667 and ask for the detective section.
“Anything that they can provide in terms of help or information. If they saw anything last night that can help us gather evidence on this case,” Hoffman said.
She also encouraged everyone to continue to support Jacksonville Beach, its police and its businesses.
“Know that this is a great city. It’s a great city to be the mayor of. This is a hard day to be the mayor but this is also an opportunity to see our staff, our community, our residents, our businesses really come together and help each other,” Hoffman said.
Timeline of shootings
Smith said the officer assigned to the crowd at the pier began breaking it up around 8 p.m. and that’s when two young men shot at each other on the boardwalk near the Best Western. Both were wounded and an innocent bystander was also hit.
All three were seriously injured but were listed as stable Monday morning.
Smith said officers witnessed the shooting and immediately tried to catch one of the shooters who ran from the scene and gave medical aid to the injured men.
The shooter who ran off later showed up at a local hospital with a gunshot wound. Smith said that he is listed by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office as a “certified gang member.” The other shooter and bystander were taken to the hospital by rescue units.
Smith said the second incident happened at 8:13 p.m. as a man in a ski mask was seen running past a bar holding a gun and he fired a shot. No one was hit and police later found the gun, Smith said.
The third shooting was reported just after 8:30 p.m. in the parking lot of Sneakers Bar and Grille.
Smith said that witnesses told investigators three men were involved in a “disturbance” and pulled out weapons, but only one fired. A 21-year-old man died at the scene.
None of the shooters involved in Sunday night’s incidents are in custody.
Smith said a second weapon and multiple shell casings have been recovered from the scenes.
Smith said no officers fired their weapons because they were concerned about the crowd, but they would have, he said, if they thought it was necessary to protect themselves or bystanders.
Again, anyone with information is asked to call the Jacksonville Beach Police Department.
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