JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A woman going to a veterinarian's office on the Southside on Wednesday evening to pick up her dogs said she was beaten in the parking lot by four men for no apparent reason.
The woman, who didn't want to be identified but goes by JJ, said the men didn't take anything and the attack wasn't sexual in nature. She said they just pulled up in a car, yelled and beat her outside VCA Briarcliff Animal Hospital at Beach and Southside boulevards.
"I looked behind me and a car had blocked me in," she said.
JJ has bruises on her face and was hospitalized following the attack in which she said the men in a black Dodge Charger rode up. The car was a newer model with tinted windows and possibly a Texas license plate.
"Somebody yelled, 'Hey, what are you doing, (expletive)?' And I kept walking, and he started again, and I turned around and said, 'I'm here to pick up my dogs,'" JJ said. "He came up behind me and hit me with something. I have no idea what. The police have no idea what. The hospital said they didn't know, but it was with very hard force that threw me to the ground."
JJ also has scratches on her arms, a swollen lip and a cut tongue. She doesn't have much of a description of the men, but said the man who attacked her was black with light skin, about 6 feet tall and 185 pounds.
"He had his window rolled down and threatened to kill me if I called the police," JJ said.
She didn't get a good glimpse of his friends. Now, she's fed up this would happen and is posting her own reward of $1,000 for information leading to an arrest.
"This is really an odd type of situation because usually when officers respond to things like this there's usually a motive, such as robbery. They want to take the car or sexually assault the person," Channel 4 crime analyst Ken Jefferson said.
He said it may have been road rage or simply a case of mistaken identity. Either way, it needs to be solved.
"Likely, this is an isolated incident that happened with this particular person," Jefferson said. "I don't think that she's being stalked, from the information I've been able to read."
JJ said she's unaware of any witnesses, nor was there any surveillance video of the attack. The animal hospital staff said it's sad that it happened, but it was isolated and it will leave the investigation in the hands of police.
Anyone with any information about the attack is asked to call the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office at 904-630-0500 or Crime Stoppers at 866-845-TIPS. Also, contact Channel 4 regarding JJ's personal reward.