The organizer of the event who brought a large group of young people to Jacksonville Beach hours before the shooting is sharing his side of the story.
JACKSONVILLE BEACH, Fla. — One of the organizers behind an event that brought a large group of young people to Jacksonville Beach on St. Patrick’s Day is sharing his side of the story.
Jacksonville Beach Police said the first shooting of three shootings on Sunday happened after police dispersed a large group of young adults. The group was made up of anywhere between 250 to 400 people.
A local DJ in Jacksonville, who goes by the name DJ Showtime, was one of the organizers of the event. He said it was supposed to be a day full of games and fun on the beach.
“I was just really trying to have a positive event and make it to where people know that people can come by and have a good time, and go home and there’d be no negative things,” DJ Showtime explained.
This was the second time he organized an event like this. He said the group was playing a popular game called ‘Oklahoma Drill,’ which comes from a one-on-one football drill. He thought everyone was having a good time when he left the beach around 7:30 that night.
“I was at Buffalo Wild Wings eating and I got a call from one of my peers saying, ‘Are you okay? There’s been a shooting on a beach,'” DJ Showtime said.
Things turned violent after police dispersed the crowd. Jacksonville Beach Police said a ‘criminal element’ showed up and that is when things escalated.
Police said two people shot at each other. Both are in critical condition. An innocent bystander was also shot. Police said one of the shooters is a known gang member.
First Coast News Crime and Safety Analyst Ken Jefferson said large groups of young people are known to get out of hand, and often times they attract other people who are only there to cause trouble.
“A lot of times, that’s what happens. Outsiders are coming in and disrupt things and cause contention. And now you got gun guns being fired, you got people dispersing,” Jefferson explained.
Jacksonville Beach Police saw the event promoted online and were prepared with officers on scene. He said most people do not even realize officers are monitoring these groups.
“When you’re policing a large gathering like that, you got to have uniform and non-uniformed officers there. And they have to be somewhat inconspicuous in their dealings with large crowds like that. They basically have to blend in with everybody,” Jefferson said.
As DJ Showtime continues to process what happened Sunday night, he said the shooting left him feeling angry and he does not plan to host another event like this again because of it.
“That’s somebody’s uncle, somebody’s brother, somebody’s sister, somebody’s mom, that you just shot for no reason, out of anger. Because you’re trying to get somebody else. It’s never a win. You’re not going to win out of this,” DJ Showtime said.
He also addressed the comments of people in the group coming there to fight. He said the original poster for the event said there would be boxing gloves provided. He ultimately decided not to bring the gloves, so any fighting that took place was not something he wanted to happen.
