JACKSONVILLE BEACH, Fla. – It was a painful memory.
When Rhonda Phillips heard about Sunday night’s shootings in Jacksonville Beach, she was instantly triggered and filled with gut-wrenching memories of losing her 23-year-old son Leon Bennett, who lost his life to gun violence in Jacksonville Beach in the summer of 2018.
“It was very triggering and just thinking it was blocks from where Leon was taken and to just think about the phone call that you get, everything that you go through,” Phillips said.
RELATED: 1 dead, 3 hurt in 3 separate shootings in downtown Jacksonville Beach during busy St. Patrick’s Day
Phillips said when reports of multiple people shot started circulating, her phone was ringing off the hook from people who knew those reports would hit close to home for her.
The separate and unrelated shootings broke out within a 40-minute time frame while people were celebrating St. Patrick’s Day, enjoying Spring Break or coming over from The Players Championship in nearby Ponte Vedra Beach.
MORE | Multiple guns used in shootings at Jacksonville Beach Sunday
One person was killed and three others were injured in the shootings in the busy downtown bar district of Jacksonville Beach.
A video of the victim suffering from a gunshot wound circulated online.
“I think it’s sickening. I don’t think any family should have to see their loved one on the ground dead,” Phillips said.
As a mother who has lost a son to gun violence, her message to Sunday’s shooters and others who think picking up a gun to settle a dispute is simple.
“You don’t have to keep killing each other,” Phillips said. “Is it worth it? Is it worth continually going out here and taking lives? It’s not the way to go. There are other ways to solve it.”
Copyright 2024 by WJXT News4JAX – All rights reserved.
