Teen hurt in triple shooting: Gunman ‘had no remorse for us'

Zion Brown killed, 2 girls injured in shooting on North Raw Hyde Trail

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A teenage girl who was injured in a triple shooting and a 9-year-old witness recounted the terrifying moment when a gunman entered a Westside home early Saturday morning. 

Zion Brown, 18, was killed and two girls, ages 9 and 16, were hurt in the shooting at the home on North Raw Hyde Trail in Jacksonville's Cedar Hills Estates neighborhood, police said.

RELATED: 1 dead, 2 injured in Westside shooting

The 16-year-old victim told News4Jax on Monday that doctors were able to remove a bullet from her foot, but another bullet is still lodged in her ankle. 

"It's scary. That's not a situation for anyone to be in. It's traumatizing, seeing all that blood. You don't know what to do, so you panic," said the teenager, who News4Jax has chosen not to identify for safety reasons. 

The teen explained how the gunman got into their home, where there were small children inside. She said she and her family were woken up about 1:30 a.m. Saturday when a brick came crashing through a sliding glass door in the back of the house.

The 16-year-old said she called 911, but before officers could arrive, the gunman walked through the broken glass door into the kitchen and then entered the living room, where the victims had gathered.

"When he came in here, he saw my little cousins were just kids. He had no remorse for us. He was just shooting. He shot until there was no more bullets in his gun, and then he walked out," she said. 

The teen said she tried to hide behind a couch, but was shot in both of her legs. Her 9-year-old cousin was shot in her neck and her right arm, but is expected to be OK. Her brother, Brown, was fatally shot.

"He was laying against the wall, but his body was out. He couldn't fit into the hiding spot," the teen said. "He died when he got to the hospital."

Her little cousin, who was not injured, said he ran and took cover.

"I hid under the bed like this and I came out when it was safe," the boy said. 

According to the teenage victim, the shooter fired all his rounds and walked out the back door as police were pulling up. The boy said that before he hid, he spotted a second person in the kitchen.

"I saw a brown man with a black jacket on and some jeans. I saw the other man, who was black, too. He had on a red jacket and some jeans, too," the boy said.

Police said they interviewed others inside the home and are working to identify the shooter. 

One of the victims said she's worried that the shooting was in retaliation for an alleged assault that took place earlier this year.

Since January, the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office has investigated two homicides, four robberies, 22 burglaries and 25 assaults within a half-mile of the triple shooting.

Detectives continue to investigate. Anyone with information is asked to call the Sheriff's Office at 904-630-0500 or email JSOCrimeTips@jaxsheriff.org. To remain anonymous and receive a possible reward of up to $3,000, contact Crime Stoppers at 1-866-845-TIPS. 


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