Man & woman arrested in Nassau County shootout

Pair faces attempted murder and child neglect charges

John Michael Kite and Ashley Blair Morgan were arrested Monday in connection with the shooting. (Photos: Nassau County Sheriff's Office)

YULEE, Fla. – Nassau County deputies arrested a man and woman Monday in connection with a recent shooting that unfolded outside a Yulee tattoo parlor.

John Michael Kite, 37, and Ashley Blair Morgan, 36, were arrested after they came forward Monday, the Nassau County Sheriff’s Office said. Each is charged with attempted murder and child neglect, while Kite faces an additional charge of possession of a firearm by a felon.

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The criminal charges stem from a shooting that was reported early June 3 outside Freebird Tattoo on Radio Avenue in Yulee and left two people hurt, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

Deputies answering that call found a man with gunshot wounds to his stomach and left wrist lying on the sidewalk near the business. He told them he had returned from a nearby church, where he hid once the gunfire started. He was taken to UF Health Jacksonville for treatment.

Around the same time, deputies were notified about a minor who had shown up at a separate Jacksonville hospital with a gunshot wound that was believed to be related to the incident.

Witnesses told deputies the victim was closing his tattoo parlor when a vehicle pulled into the parking lot and five people – two adults and three minors – got out. They said the victim and a man from the car got into a shootout, and one of the minors was struck during the exchange.

The suspected shooter was dropped off in Fernandina and the wounded minor was taken to a Jacksonville hospital, witnesses said.

The incident remains under investigation.