4 dead; 1 injured in separate Jacksonville shootings Tuesday
A night of violence rocked Jacksonville on Tuesday even as the impact of Hurricane Irma continues to reverberate.
In the space of six hours, four people — one a teen — died in separate shootings, while a woman was seriously injured by gunshots, according to the Sheriff’s Office. It brings the number of homicides in the city to at least 95 in a night of violence that followed days of relative reprieve while people were consumed by surviving the storm.
The first shooting death was the youngest victim, at about 5:30 p.m. in the 4600 block of Ricker Road, according to the Sheriff ’s Office.
A group of teens were hanging out behind a closed daycare in the Westside neighborhood near Melvin Road when a boy believed to be 14 was shot, Sgt. Mark Musser said.
The boy was pronounced dead at UF Health Jacksonville, he said. His three friends were questioned, but police said it was unclear whether it was gang-related.
The second shooting was two hours later at the Hilltop Apartments at 1646 W. 45th St. Officers responded to reports of gunshots, police said. They found an unknown man 25 to 30 years old shot multiple times between two of the buildings. The Fire and Rescue Department was called, but the man was dead. A witness told police a pair of armed gunmen wearing masks approached the man as he got out of his car and walked toward the courtyard. They fired at the victim then ran.
About 8:30 p.m., officers went to the third shooting at the La Estancia apartment complex at 5141 Shenandoah Ave., four miles from the Hilltop Apartments. Responding to reports of a person shot, officers found another man of about 20 shot at least once near an apartment, police said. Paramedics declared him dead; police had no other information.
The last fatal shooting Tuesday began with a woman injured in an attack just before 11 p.m. in the 11000 block of DePaul Drive; it ended minutes later less than two miles away on Dunn Avenue with her boyfriend dead of an apparent suicide, police said. They said the two are connected. The woman was listed in serious condition but is expected to recover, police said.