JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office said a suspected fentanyl dealer was killed by detectives Wednesday afternoon after he ran from a traffic stop and fired several shots toward the officers in the Paxon neighborhood.
JSO Chief of Investigations Brian Kee said it all started around 12:30 p.m. when JSO’s Narcotics Overdose Squad was investigating a suspected fentanyl dealer. The man was believed to be connected to an overdose death that happened in Jacksonville about a week ago, Kee said.
When JSO tried to pull the man over, he jumped out of the car near a strip mall on North Edgewood Avenue and ran off, Kee said.
Detectives chased the man down nearby Cain Lane where they ordered him to stop, but Kee said instead of surrendering, the suspect pulled out a Glock handgun and fired at the two detectives who were clearly marked as police officers.
Kee said the suspect missed but was able to briefly get away and hide out in a wooded area.
About 10 minutes later, Kee said the suspect ran into two different detectives on Broadway Avenue and opened fire. The detecitves returned fire, Kee said, and the suspect was struck and killed in the front yard of a home.
A house was hit by at least one of the bullets, but no detectives were hurt, Kee said, and all four will be placed on administrative leave, which is standard procedure for any police shooting.
Kee said the State Attorney’s Office was at the scene Wednesday evening to conduct an independent investigation.
JSO did not immediately release the name of the man killed because it had not yet notified his family.
Kee said the name of the suspect as well as a photo of the gun he is accused of using to shoot at officers will be released in the coming days.
“That is a terrible plague in our community right now,” Kee said, referencing fentanyl. “We’ve had over 380 overdose deaths just in Duval County this year. If you do the math, that’s more than one a day. This [Narcotics Overdose Squad] was created about three years ago, one sergeant and about six detectives to try to locate these dangerous drug dealers that are putting this kind of poison out into the community. And they’ve been pretty successful so far since their inception.”
No officers involved in the incident or bystanders were hurt.
Community members said they want to see the violence end.
“It’s kind of hard but it’s a regular ongoing thing out here, and something needs to happen to change that,” one person told News4JAX.
Wycidra Thompson works in the shopping plaza and heard the situation unfold.
“I heard a big boom. You know, like gunshots,” Thompson said. “I was scared. It was shocking.”