JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A man and his fiancee said they believe they were followed and targeted last week when the man was shot in a Walmart shopping plaza parking lot on Jacksonville’s Westside.
Now the couple fears that was just the beginning of what’s to come.
“My kids are afraid to go outside,” Brenda Perez said Tuesday. “We have people staying at the house to make sure nothing happens.”
Perez said she and her fiance, David Medina, were in the strip mall parking lot on Collins Road on Thursday evening when Medina was shot three times.
“The bullet broke my jaw in 12 places. So, I’m wearing a wire for six weeks. I got one through the leg and one through the groin,” Medina told News4Jax. "Other than that, I’m alright. "
On the night of the shooting, Perez said, a suspicious car full of people came up behind their vehicle. The couple suspected something wasn’t right.
“He told me to stay in the vehicle, which I did. Then I saw three guys going into a brawl," Perez recounted.
Shots were fired and Medina went down. When police arrived, according to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, a knife was on the ground next to him.
“I saw three people coming at me and I pulled out my knife to defend myself,” Medina said.
Medina and his fiancee said they know one of the three people who attacked him. Although that person was detained and questioned by police, News4Jax is not identifying him because no charges were filed against him. The couple said they were told by investigators there wasn’t enough evidence to make an arrest.
As for the other two alleged attackers, Perez said, “Look(s) like one has been identified. The other one left the scene."
While the case remains under investigation, Perez said she and her fiance are now living in fear.
“I’m just afraid not knowing what’s going to happen to me, my kids, especially," Perez said. "Since I was there that night, seeing what he did to my fiance, I’m not sure what to expect.”
Meanwhile, Medina is still recovering. He said there is a chance that he may have suffered permanent nerve damage to one side of his face and hearing loss to one of his ears. He said the injuries to his lower body are not as severe.