JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The first week of high school football season ended in gunfire Friday night at Lonnie C. Miller Sr. Regional Park in Northwest Jacksonville, and for one father, the nightmare began not at the park, but with a knock at his front door.
James Crews learned his 20-year-old son, Zakyri, had been shot when a parent came to the family’s home to deliver the news.
“The parent had came to the house and notified us that there was an incident. It was a shooting that involved my son. We go to Shands, and this is where we’re at,” Crews told News4JAX on Saturday.
Zakyri Crews was one of two people wounded when gunfire broke out near a high school football game between Young Kids in Motion Academy and Joshua Christian Academy. A 19-year-old woman was also struck in the leg. Both were taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, according to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office.
But the road to recovery ahead for Zakyri is far from simple.
“His shoulder, it’s still healing. It’s an open wound. They’re planning surgery,” his father said. “They’re going to have to end up putting a metal rod in his arm. He’s probably going to have to live with this for the rest of his life. Even with the mental state, he’s now physically living with this ailment.”
Investigators say two groups got into a dispute during the game between Young Kids Academy and Joshua Christian Academy. One group was escorted out — but later returned. That’s when shots were fired.
JSO says two men believed to be responsible fled the scene. They are described as being in their late teens to early 20s. The shooting stems from an ongoing dispute between the two groups, according to investigators, who say there is no additional danger to the community or to the two schools involved.
James Crews described his son as someone who loves football, loves being around people — and who now faces a future shaped by a bullet he never saw coming.
“He’s a joyful kid, he’s 20, he wants to play football, he wants to be around a lot of kids,” Crews said. “But sad to say in our society today, that’s just not a reality. You know, you have to watch your kids and they have to watch who they’re letting in their circles.”
For Crews, the wound goes beyond the physical.
“Nobody should be talking about, ‘I got shot at 20,’ when you’re going to go play a football game.”
James Crews is not only the father of a shooting victim — he is also a youth violence prevention advocate on Jacksonville’s Northside, working alongside community leader John Marcus.
Marcus said Friday night’s shooting deepened an urgent call for investment in the area.
“I think our future City Councils, they need to come outside for people, not just around election time,” Marcus said. “They need to come outside and say, ‘Hey, what can I do to make this side of town better?’ Because it starts with us.”
Crews echoed that call, framing the solution in terms of resources, not just enforcement.
“We need to come together and let’s focus in on gathering attention and providing resources for our youth,” he said. “With more resources, I can guarantee you we will have less crime.”
JSO has not announced any arrests. The investigation is ongoing.
Anyone with information is asked to call JSO at 904-630-0500, email jsocrimetips@jaxsheriff.org, or submit an anonymous tip through Crime Stoppers at 1-866-845-TIPS.