JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Residents in a Jacksonville neighborhood said they are shaken and frustrated after a man was fatally shot early Monday morning on Boilard Drive, prompting renewed calls for increased police presence in the area.
Kimberly Jordan, who said she has lived in the neighborhood for about 60 years, said the shooting did not come as a surprise and pointed to ongoing concerns about activity at a nearby home.
“They need to patrol this area more and do something about this area,” Jordan said. “They know they are over there. The police need to patrol this area more than they do and make sure these boys stop hanging around here because everybody around here is elderly, and everybody’s house out here is paid for. Now they are putting all of the houses on HUD, and all of the riffraff is coming into the neighborhood.”
Jordan said she believes similar incidents could happen again if changes are not made.
“It was bound to happen, and it will probably happen again if they don’t do something about it,” she said.
Another resident, Cathy Lopez Jenkins, who said she has lived in the area for 25 years, described the neighborhood as typically quiet but said recent changes have affected the community.
“This is a quiet neighborhood, we have retired JSO, we have nurses, doctors, school teachers, postal workers and it’s quiet,” Jenkins said. “This Dotsie side east is very quiet, can’t speak for the other side.”
Jenkins said a younger population has moved into parts of the neighborhood in recent years.
“It’s a younger crowd, they get the HUD houses, and anybody and anyone moves in,” she said. “That has a big part on the community.”
Officers with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office were dispatched to the area around 2:30 a.m. after receiving reports of a person shot, according to Sgt. Dishman with the JSO Homicide Unit.
Officers found a man in his mid-20s suffering from a gunshot wound. Jacksonville Fire and Rescue pronounced him dead at the scene.
Detectives with the Homicide Unit and Crime Scene Unit continue to investigate. Multiple people were detained for questioning, but no arrests have been announced. The circumstances of the shooting and the relationships of those involved remain under investigation.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office at 904-630-0500 or jsocrimetips@jaxsheriff.org. Anonymous tips can also be submitted through CrimeStoppers at 1-866-845-TIPS.