ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – A 37-year-old St. Johns County man is facing two counts of attempted murder after investigators say he shot his girlfriend and her roommate “apparently unprovoked” in the women’s St. Augustine home.
Michael Hankerson was arrested Thursday night, eight blocks away from the home where deputies say he fired a gun at his girlfriend and her friend while the three of them were watching a movie in the living room.
The two women and another man in the home at the time all called 911 to report the shooting just before 7 p.m. Thursday. Deputies said both women were airlifted to the hospital, where they survived their injuries.
Hankerson’s girlfriend was shot multiple times in her legs, and her roommate was wounded in her shoulder, according to his arrest report.
Deputies said Hankerson’s girlfriend had recently moved in with the other woman, who is her friend. The roommate told deputies that Hankerson had stayed over a few times since his girlfriend moved in.
According to the arrest report, the friend said the three of them were in the living room of the women’s home, watching a movie, when Hankerson “stood up, apparently unprovoked, produced a handgun and shot” her and his girlfriend.
Another man who was in the home at the time also called 911, saying he heard but did not see the shooting.
Investigators said Hankerson ran from the home after the shooting and was seen running through yards and jumping over fences to get away from law enforcement.
He was arrested eight blocks away, wearing no shirt and no shoes.
Video obtained by News4JAX shows deputies chasing Hankerson on foot before putting him in the back of a patrol car.
One neighbor said the quick arrest made him feel safer.
“By the time we found out about it, the person had already been apprehended, so there was no real panic moment there. We were able to go straight to sympathizing,” Jonathan Dotson said.
Hankerson made his first appearance Friday in St. Johns County court and was ordered to be held without bond.