ST. JOHNS, Fla. – St. Johns County deputies are investigating a murder-suicide between two neighbors who live in a townhome community on Servia Drive off St. Johns Parkway south of Racetrack Road in the northwest portion of the county.
A spokesperson for the Sheriff’s Office said so far the investigation has revealed that for unknown reasons, an incident occurred between the neighbors resulting in one of them being shot and killed. The shooting was reported at the Palisades at Durbin Crossing, which is a townhome development.
Investigators said after the shooting, the suspect re-entered their own residence and went into the backyard, where they took their own life with a firearm.
The genders and ages of the neighbors were not released.
The St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office Major Crimes Unit is investigating.
Gabriel Vangarde hasn’t lived there long, but calls what happened in his quiet neighborhood gory.
“It’s definitely heightened my senses a little bit,” Vangarde said. “To know that danger can really appear anywhere.”
Vangarde said he still has faith in his community.
“Makes me want to get to know my community better,” Vangarde said.
But he hopes nothing like this happens again.
Dylan D’Amours said he’s traumatized after hearing a neighbor shot and killed another neighbor, who then killed themself.
“The fact that it happened here with so many kids and things like that. We do hear down there that neighbors frequently get into arguments, but never in my life would I just think they would have to physically do something to harm the other guy,” D’Amours said.
D’Amours said he knows of a lot of problems on the side where the shooting happened, and said this is the second tragedy in this area that he can think of, following the stabbing death of Tristyn Bailey.
“It’s definitely traumatizing for this whole neighborhood,” D’Amours said. “We haven’t had something like this happen in a long time since the Tristyn thing, so it’s, like, things like this don’t happen in this area. Very safe and calm.”
The sheriff’s office says there is not threat to the public.
The spokesperson said this appears to be an isolated incident and there is no threat to the public.