JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A Jacksonville family mourning the loss of a 32-year-old father who was killed in an early Sunday morning shooting is asking the community for answers and support.
Family members said Tayvon Sellers was loving, funny and full of life.
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“It hurts. It’s something that I have to live with for the rest of my life,” Sellers’ mother, Angela Sellers, said. “I can’t see my baby. I can’t talk to my baby no more.”
‘Batman and Robin’
Loved ones said Sellers was a devoted father to four girls and was planning to get married later this year. They said he had just celebrated his 32nd birthday days before the shooting.
Friends and family say he was known for making people laugh and bringing energy into every room.
“He was our laughter,” his mother said. “He couldn’t dance worth a lick, but he would get out there and make you laugh.”
A close friend described Sellers as a partner in life, saying the two were working to build a future together.
“We were Batman and Robin,” the friend said. “We were working on a landscaping business, trying to become entrepreneurs. We had a lot of dreams.”
Deadly shooting
According to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, officers responded to a shooting around 1:40 a.m. Sunday at the Gregory Cove Apartments on Edenfield Road, just off University Boulevard.
Investigators said two men were hanging out at the apartment complex when an unknown person opened fire.
Sellers was taken to a hospital, where he died.
Police said the other man later arrived at an emergency room on Merrill Road with a gunshot wound to the leg.
Neighbors in the area said the shooting left them shaken.
“This neighborhood, it’s not even that dangerous for me. I feel kind of safe,” said Mary Cipriamo, who lives nearby. “But just to experience it happening here, it feels really sad.”
As the investigation continues, Sellers’ family is urging anyone with information to come forward.
“If you know something, say something,” his mother said. “We just want to know what happened.”
The family has also created a GoFundMe to help cover funeral expenses and support Sellers’ children.
Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to contact the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office at 904-630-0500 or CrimeStoppers at 1-866-845-TIPS.