Latest shooting concerning for Jacksonville sheriff candidates

Ken Jefferson, Mike Williams reflect on ways to put stop to violence

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Another young person was shot and killed during a get-together. Sources with News4Jax confirm the boy killed is Jaquon Reeves.

Police said the shooting happened shortly before 10 p.m. Friday at Sheffield Park on the north side.

The latest brush of violence involving young people is concerning for the two men running for Jacksonville sheriff.

"With all that we've seen in the last couple of days, it makes you want to look back and say, 'When have we not seen this in Jacksonville,'" said Mike Williams.

"These senseless murders that we're seeing right now, it's hard on our city. It's hard on everybody because it affects the entire city," said Ken Jefferson.

RELATED: Teen dead, 2nd hurt after party shooting

With the election just days away, Jefferson and Williams are both reflecting on ways to put a stop to the violence.

"A lot of these young people are misguided," Jefferson said. "They get to the point where the only ones who are giving them mentorship are the ones who are committing the crimes."

The two agree that prevention and intervention are key.

"Engaging youth, keeping those young boys and girls off of street corners, keeping them involved in after-school programs and summer programs," Williams said.

Williams thinks back to just four years ago when the crime rate was down significantly.

"You ask yourself what's missing today that we have in place then," Williams said. "We had an extra number of police officers on the street, we had our community service officers on the street we had the Jacksonville journey fully funded, engaging youth."

For Jefferson, curbing the violence also means engaging the community and letting citizens know they can reach out to the good guys.

"If that relationship is fractured, we're going to get what we're getting now," Jefferson said. "They are not going to take it to the police, they're not going to trust the police to let them investigate it and bring people to justice."


About the Author:

Ashley Harding joined the Channel 4 news team in March 2013. She reports for and anchors The Morning Show.