JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – An off-duty Jacksonville detective taking his son to school early Wednesday morning is in critical but stable condition after being shot three times after pulling over a car driving erratically, according to the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office.
The undercover officer's name was not released, but he was described as a veteran of JSO, where he has worked since 2008. Chief Tom Hackney said the detective was shot once in the head, once in the upper body and once in the hand, yet managed to fire nine shots at the gunman, although none of them struck their target.
"The fact that he is currently alive, was able to defend himself, and defend his son and return fire to someone who set out to do him harm, set out to do other officers harm, as well, is a credit to our training," Hackney said.
Kevin Rojas, 19, who was not hit in the initial exchange of gunfire with the detective, was hit three times at the end of a chase. He remains hospitalized under guard. He was charged with two counts of attempted murder and two counts of aggravated assault.
Rojas was pursued into a neighborhood off Collins Road and was shot in a confrontation with other officers. He survived the shooting and was in stable condition Wednesday night.
His takedown was caught on video by a neighbor, and Rojas could be seen moving around under a white sheet, waiting for rescue to arrive.
Hackney said the officer was shot shortly after 7 a.m. beside the railroad tracks on Collins Road, just off Roosevelt Boulevard. The driver who was pulled over, later identified as Rojas, immediately got of his car and began shooting at the officer, who was exiting his car.
The plainclothes officer, who was wearing a bulletproof vest, was able to call for help before collapsing outside his car. Four bullet holes could be seen in the windshield of the officer's vehicle.
The officer's 12-year-old son was in the front seat of the car on his way to school at the time, but he was not hurt.
"It's by God's grace that he was not hurt as well," Hackney said.
Hackney said officers arriving to help were flagged down by someone whose Ford F-350 was stolen by the gunman a short distance from the shooting scene. Officers pursued the truck down Collins Road, and when they tried to pull it over, Rojas sped up and turned into a subdivision, police said.
After he turned down a dead-end street, Rojas rammed the truck into a house next to where he lives, authorities said.
Officers found Rojas on the back porch of the home. Two officers said that when Rojas refused to drop the gun and began to raise it, they both fired. He was hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries.
"Thankfully the suspect is in custody and not out there to do harm to do anyone else," Hackney said.
After the incident, Rojas' girlfriend told officers that he fired two shots inside their house and said this would be his last day on Earth before abruptly leaving with a handgun.
"People with suicidal ideologies could be homicidal. It's just a cold, hard fact," Hackney said.
Rojas' roommate, Cole Jackson, said the gun was his.
“I bought it and put it in my girlfriend's name and bought it for protection because Kevin was scaring me, and then he ended up finding it, I guess, and that's what happened,” Jackson said.
Police said they do not believe Rojas was a registered gun owner.
Collins Road between Roosevelt and Blanding boulevards was closed until 2 p.m. while police completed gathering evidence.
The two officers who shot Rojas have been placed on administrative leave, per standard JSO policy.
Citizens rush to help officer, son
People working at Partridge Well Drilling heard gunshots right outside their building and ran to help the officer.
"We just saw that he needed help and really didn't think twice about it," said Merritt Partridge, company vice president. "We jumped right in there and did what we could, lending a hand until the help arrived."
Partridge said he saw two cars, the officer's unmarked sedan with bullet holes and the Cadillac police said Rojas was originally driving, parked on the side of the road. He said it looked like the officer was trying to get his vest off when they arrived.
The officer's teenage son, who witnessed his father being shot, was still inside the car.
"He was very quiet; scared I'm sure," Partridge said. "He was in the car for most of the event, but he was handling it very well."
Since the officer was lying behind his car, which was partially on the railroad tracks, and a train was coming, Partridge and his workers moved the officer and the car to safety. Later in the morning, CSX stopped train traffic in the area until police were done collecting evidence.
"It was very surreal," Partridge said. "We're very happy to help in any way that we could; just didn't really think twice about it. We are very appreciative of what law enforcement does for us in the community, and it's just our small part. We would do it again if we had to."
Partridge said he and his employees were keeping up with the officer’s condition throughout the day and they will continue to do that in the coming days. He and his staff are hopeful that the officer will recover quickly.
In the afternoon news conference, Hackney thanked the workers who pulled the wounded officer to safety.
This was the fourth officer-involved shooting in Jacksonville this year, but it was the first time an officer has been critically injured by gunfire since 2008. Crime and safety analyst Gil Smith said it will be stressful for the department.
"It is still a fairly young police department, so this is going to be the first time that some of these detectives and officers have worked on a scene where you do have an officer who was seriously injured," Smith said.
Family, officers wait for word
As a team of surgeons worked to save the detective's life, his mom, brothers and fellow officers waited and prayed at UF Health. Sheriff Mike Williams and State Attorney Angela Corey visited UF Health Jacksonville before noon to get updates on the officer.
Police were thankful the officer was wearing a bulletproof vest at the time, even though he wasn't scheduled to start his shift for a couple of hours.
"I don't think there was anything ominous about this stop that made him want to wear a vest other than he's doing what his training is dictating that he would do," Williams said.
While word came midday that the surgery was successful and the officer would survive, he faces a long recovery.
"We all sign up for it with a certain understanding of what you may encounter, and when it occurs, when you encounter it, you deploy the skills and training," Hackney said. "It's also a stark reality of just how dangerous the job the thousands of men and women in this country and thousands in this city do every day to protect the taxpayers and the good people of Jacksonville."
Williams said Mayor Lenny Curry, Gov. Rick Scott and other leaders called Wednesday to share their concern. Williams thanked the Florida Highway Patrol, Jacksonville Fire-Rescue and the staff at UF Health Jacksonville for their support, as well as ordinary citizens, who not only helped at the scene, but others who have expressed their support to officers across the city Wednesday.