JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A day after two undercover officers with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office shot a man who they said was pointing a gun at them, neighbors described the encounter to News4JAX.
One man said he was outside working on a project when he heard gunshots.
“At first I thought it was fireworks, but then I heard three more, and I was like, that’s not fireworks,” said Jared, who declined to share his last name. “It was kind of scary because I sleep right by a window. ... It’s really quiet, peaceful. Never any issues or anything like that.”
According to JSO, the incident started around 6:50 p.m. near 22nd and North Main streets in Brentwood after officers responded to an armed drug complaint.
Patrol officers cleared the call, but task force members went to the area to conduct surveillance work in an unmarked car.
“They did that to see if they could see some illegal activity coming from the residents where the complaint was coming from,” JSO Chief Michael Paul said.
According to JSO, a man, identified as 35-year-old Samuel Deondre Cook, walked up to that car and pointed a gun at the two officers inside, unaware that they were police officers.
“He walked up to a car that was occupied, not knowing who was in it, and pointed a gun at the individuals inside,” Paul said.
That’s when the two officers shot at Cook from inside the car, JSO said.
Paul said the two officers then got out of the car, and Cook ran away while shooting back at the officers.
Police chased Cook for about two blocks and ultimately took him into custody.
Cook, who has a history of drug-related arrests, was taken to UF Health with multiple gunshot wounds, JSO said.
The officers were not injured.
Cook was charged with two counts of attempted murder of a law enforcement officer, two counts of assault with a deadly weapon without intent to kill and one count of possession of a firearm by a felon.
News4JAX Crime & Safety Analyst Tom Hackney, who served with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office for years, said undercover officers in unmarked cars are often at high risk.
“You’re dealing with an element of society that frequently is armed, frequently uses guns to protect their drugs and or money or a combination,” Hackney said.
The officers involved in the shooting were identified as Officer Mills, who has been with JSO for nine years, and Officer Lyons, who has been with JSO for about four years.
This was Mills’ first officer-involved shooting, and the second for Lyons, according to JSO.
“One, I’m glad the police officers are OK, which is the most important thing for us. No. 2, don’t pull guns on police,” Sheriff T.K. Waters said.
The State Attorney’s Office is investigating the shooting. Once the investigation is complete, JSO will conduct its own investigation.
“You have to judge incidents like this by what the officers knew at the time. Supreme Court says it’s narrowly focused to what the officers knew or should have known at the time,” Hackney explained. “And as that person approaches with the firearm to their car what they knew at the time is that person is a threat.”
It was the third officer-involved shooting in the first 11 days of 2026.
Last week, two JSO officers shot and killed a man in the Bartram Park area, and the same night across town, three officers shot a man in a separate incident in Arlington, JSO said. He was injured but survived.
“If you pull a gun when the police comes up, you are going to get shot. That’s just what’s going to happen,” Waters said. “And that’s what is happening in these cases. These guys are pulling out guns, firearms. It’s a dangerous world, we’re not playing games here. This is not Tiddlywinks. This is real life.”
Watch the full incident briefing in the video below