JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A man who was shot and killed by two officers with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office on Tuesday night was armed with two firearms at the time of the shooting, according to police.
Police said Michael Wayne Jones, 52, was fatally shot by officers on Jacksonville’s Northside after he pulled out a black handgun (pictured above) during a foot chase with officers.
According to JSO, the silver firearm (pictured above) was found in Jones’ pants after the incident.
JSO said the incident that escalated into the deadly confrontation began around 11:15 p.m. as a stolen car investigation when officers, who were in an unmarked car, spotted a vehicle that had been reported stolen.
According to investigators, the officers recognized Jones driving as the same man who had been seen driving that same stolen vehicle -- with a different license plate -- two weeks earlier. Police said Jones managed to get away during that incident, and the officers made note that he had a firearm at the time.
“The individual has been switching out tags, but it’s still the same stolen vehicle with different tags on it,” Coarsey said.
The officers in the unmarked car followed the driver of the stolen vehicle to a home on Kaleel Road, while calling for backup. Shortly after pulling into a driveway on Kaleel Road, Jones jumped out of the car and ran away and was chased by two officers, JSO said.
JSO said one of the officers chasing the man, whose name has not yet been released, attempted to use his Taser twice during the chase, but it’s unclear if either attempt connected.
Jones -- who ran through several backyards and jumped fences during the chase -- then pulled out a handgun, and the two officers who were chasing him fired multiple shots, JSO said.
“Enough (shots) to end the threat,” Undersheriff Shawn Coarsey said during a briefing about the officer-involved shooting.
The man died in the backyard of a home at the scene, which is near I-295 and Pulaski Road on the city’s Northside.
Neither officer was hurt during the incident, which marks the fourth officer-involved shooting of 2026.
The State Attorney’s Office is investigating the shooting, and the two officers involved -- Officer M. Higginbotham and Sgt. M. Howell -- have been placed on administrative leave, per protocol.
According to JSO, Jones was a convicted felon from Virginia.