JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Two women were killed early Wednesday morning in a double shooting on Hendricks Avenue that also involved a train crash, according to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office.
Police were first called around 1:40 a.m. to the train tracks on Hendricks Avenue between Cedar and Nira streets because of a reported train vs. SUV crash.
When officers arrived, though, they found a 28-year-old woman inside the white SUV that had hit the train had been shot multiple times. She died at the scene.
Police also found another woman, 53, nearby on the curb near the railroad tracks who had also been shot. She was taken to UF Health Hospital, where she died.
Investigators said it’s unclear if the two women were together.
According to JSO, the woman driving the SUV had stopped for the train but when she was shot, she apparently released her brakes and coasted into the side of the passing train.
The train crash and the investigation shut down Hendricks Avenue between Cedar and Nira streets. Hendricks reopened just after 8 a.m.
Police are working to identify the women and are looking for any surveillance video or witnesses who might be able to say what happened.
People who have lived and worked in the area for more than two decades said they are still processing what happened.
“When I pulled up this morning, I saw police barricading the road down there and it looked like they had a vehicle up there on a tow truck and everything was being detoured to the left,” said Sharon, who has worked at the Hendricks Food Market for 28 years.
The vehicle being towed away was the white SUV that had struck the train after its driver was shot.
Sharon said she never imagined something like the deadly double shooting would happen in San Marco.
“It kind of makes me freak out, wondering who all is standing behind me at this point,” Sharon said. “It makes you on edge thinking, ‘Did they catch the guy yet? Do they have any witnesses? Is he still running loose? Is he going to come in here?’”
Sharon wasn’t the only one surprised by the San Marco shooting.
“It’s crazy. I mean, I’ve never heard anything like that here in this neighborhood in San Marco,” said resident Rebecca Fischer.
“It doesn’t matter where you live in Jacksonville anymore, unfortunately. No place is immune from this sort of thing,” resident Chris Miller said.
Anyone with information can call JSO at 904-630-0500 or CrimeStoppers at 1-866-845-TIPS.