JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A woman who was home Monday night when police fatally shot a man in the front yard she shares with her neighbor said she thought fireworks were going off—until she looked outside.
Jessica Sauls, who was home with her adult son and teenage daughter, said she saw officers doing CPR on the man in the yard. She said he had been shot by police practically on her doorstep, leaving her shaken.
According to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, the man shot by officers started kicking in the doors of several homes on Rigel Road around 11:15 p.m. Monday while carrying a handgun.
The people inside all called 911, bringing police to the scene, and when the man approached the officers while still holding the gun, four of them fired at him.
According to a JSO incident report, two of the homes, which are off Century 21 Drive in the Holiday Hill neighborhood, had children inside when the man busted in. One had a 1-year-old and two teenagers, along with two adults, and another had a 12-year-old, three teenagers and two adults.
It appears the man did not try to take anything.
“The danger was there. I know it caused a lot of fear for residents in those places,” Sheriff T.K. Waters said. “It’s a pretty dangerous and scary situation for those people who live in those residences.”
Sauls said her neighbor’s home was one of the four the man broke into.
“This is the sweetest family that lives here,” she said. “It was just really shocking to see.”
Sauls said the gunfire, which left her neighbor’s home riddled with bullets, sounded like “the grand finale” of a fireworks show.
She said her adult son, who has autism, saw the man outside on the ground before she realized he was looking and was left shaken by the sight.
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“It’s very nerve-wracking to A) see a police-involved shooting. You see it on the news. You see it in movie scenes, but to have it happen in your front yard, and to have children at home is just... I’m still shaking to my core,” Sauls said. “And to watch a man’s life being taken away right in front of me is just, it’s heartbreaking. I know that he committed a crime, but it is heartbreaking to see somebody’s life just end that quickly.”
Sauls said that although the sight was disturbing, she is thankful that police protected her neighbors and that none of the officers were injured.
‘This is it’
Several of the residents who called 911 told police that the man had made concerning statements before leaving.
JSO Undersheriff Shawn Coarsey said the man told officers, “This is it… this is my last day,” when he approached them as they were speaking with residents in a driveway.
Coarsey said the incident was captured on both surveillance video and body-worn cameras, which show the man walking up to the officers and pointing a gun at them.
The officers ordered him to drop the weapon. He did not, and that is when four officers fired their weapons, fatally wounding him, Coarsey said.
“He walked between two vehicles. It’s hard to tell where he came from. It was dark where he came from,” JSO Undersheriff Shawn Coarsey said. “As he approached those officers, he picked his hand up, pointed the gun at them. They ordered him to drop the gun, and the shots were fired.”
JSO said the man has been identified, but they need to notify his family before releasing his name to the public. They did note that he has convictions in both Texas and Florida, and therefore could not legally carry a firearm.
The State Attorney’s Office is investigating the case, and the officers who fired their weapons will be placed on administrative leave, per agency protocol. They are Officer R. Vazquez, Officer G. Comayagua, Officer J. Pallint, and Officer A. Schmidt.
Sauls said teens recently stole her wallet and handgun out of her unlocked vehicle in the neighborhood. Between that and the officer-involved shooting, Sauls said she will definitely be adding extra security at her home.