JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A 17-year-old was killed Tuesday night in a shooting in the Murray Hill neighborhood.
Jacksonville police are searching for the person who pulled the trigger, hitting Blaise Conner multiple times. He was found on the sidewalk in front of Murray Hill Baptist Church on Post Street near Dancy Street.
Police say they were called out to the area around 8:30 p.m. Tuesday because of reports of gunfire, and they found Conner, who died at the scene.
It’s unclear if he lived in the area, or what exactly led up to the deadly shooting.
Multiple detectives and at least two crime scene vans were in the area, and investigators said they need the public to come forward to help them solve the case.
Doug Axtell, senior pastor at Murray Hill Baptist Church, is heartbroken that a deadly shooting happened right outside the steps of his church.
“It’s devastating to imagine all the potential and possibility for this young man that is now gone and at 17 years old, he’s really just getting his life started and to see and not know what he could have been or was going to be and that’s taken away,” Axtell said. “We run back to God and open ourselves to him and what he wants to do. We realize that the world is broken and it doesn’t have to be and so we create that opportunity for people to find a new way.”
News4JAX Crime and Safety expert, Tom Hackney, said the increase in deadly shootings is concerning, especially with the youth.
“It seems like if this was in relation to a fight and this fight ended up with somebody being shot, that’s an extreme measure obviously and you don’t want anything like that to happen… and it’s frightening that it happens in a neighborhood with houses very close by,” Hackney said.
You can call the JSO non-emergency number at 904-630-0500 or CrimeStoppers at 1-866-845-TIPS.