JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A SWAT standoff that began in the early hours of the morning Thursday ended around 10 a.m. when a man surrendered to police at the Gregory Cove apartment complex in the Charter Point area of Arlington.
Around 2:11 a.m., the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office received multiple calls of shots fired at the Gregory Cove Apartment Complex on Edenfield Road. When officers arrived they found a man standing in a window of an apartment shooting out the window, the sheriff’s office said.
JSO said the man threw a rifle through the window, breaking it, then went down to the ground to retrieve it, and went back to his apartment.
Residents were evacuated and SWAT was called. Two unoccupied cars and another building were hit by gunfire, but no other injuries were reported.
The man eventually surrendered and a K-9 was deployed. He was taken into custody and transported to the hospital to address bite wounds.
A video sent to News4JAX by a witness at the apartment complex showed heavy police presence, and a command center on the scene, along with at least two tank vehicles. It also showed the man, wearing a white T-shirt, kneeling with his arms raised when the JSO K-9 lunged at him and wrestled him to the ground.
The video is from a distance and the exchange between the man and the officers cannot be heard.
JSO said the man has a long history of drug abuse and the man’s family said he may have taken “Molly” the previous night. Two guns were recovered and the suspect is facing multiple charges of shooting into a car and building.
Another video showed a stretcher being wheeled over for the man.
Resident Michael Mims said that being told to evacuate made him realize how serious this situation could be.
“I was scared. I am really emotional right now. I’m just really scared because I do not know what is about to happen,” Mims said.
The evacuation order has been lifted.