Police confirm 21-year-old James Jones III, was the man killed in the parking lot of Sneakers Sports Grille.
JACKSONVILLE BEACH, Fla — Jacksonville Beach Police have identified the man killed Sunday in one of the three shootings in 40 minutes that evening. They’ve also released the audio from several 911 calls made that night.
Police confirm that 21-year-old James Jones III was the man killed in the parking lot of Sneakers Sports Grille. Police are asking for the community’s help to find the person who shot him, saying there were several people present when Jones was shot. They say the suspect ran away heading southwest from Sneakers.
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One of the 911 calls released Tuesday describes someone laying on the ground following the shooting, telling 911 dispatchers there was a fight beforehand. Other calls came in from various beach bars and multiple people described hearing gunshots. One caller said they heard 12 to 15 gunshots, which a witness on the beach also told First Coast News Monday.
Nearly 72 hours after the first shots were fired, suspects from all three shootings Sunday are still on the run and no arrests have been made. First Coast News Crime and Safety Expert Ken Jefferson says the criminal justice system takes time.
“You have to be very methodical with your investigation,” Jefferson said. “You can’t jump the gun, you can’t jump to conclusions, you have to be absolutely sure before you make an arrest.”
Right now, the city of Jacksonville Beach is experiencing what they’re calling a “cybersecurity event” that has been taking place since late January. JBPD says some surveillance cameras were down due to an upgrade, but both shootings resulting in injuries were caught on surveillance video.
The JBPD records department is unable to access police reports from before January 29, the records supervisor told First Coast News, due to the “cybersecurity event.” Jefferson says that’s unlikely to impact the current investigation.
“Going forward, I’m certain that they’ve learned some lessons from that to be able to preserve current reports and incidents,” Jefferson said.
The city released a statement Tuesday, saying in part: “We condemn this tragedy in the strongest possible terms and stand firmly with all those who believe in a safe and peaceful Jacksonville Beach.”
Police say they’re combing through surveillance video to get images of suspects to then put out to the public for you to help identify them. Stay with First Coast News for that update.
If you know anything that could help police solve these cases, call police or leave an anonymous tip through Crimestoppers at 1-866-845-TIPS (8477).
