JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A few weeks after a deadly shooting at an extended-stay hotel near Beach Boulevard, a family is still coping with the loss of a father while urging the community to help prevent more violence.
A close family friend of Charles Newsome, 47, who did not want to be identified, said Newsome’s wife is still in shock.
“It’s been tough,” the friend said. “I’ve been trying to help his wife as best as I can. She’s in shock, of course.”
The friend said Newsome’s children are also receiving support as they cope with losing their father.
“We’re trying to get the kids therapy and everything they’ll need to get through something like this,” the friend said.
The friend said Newsome lived in apartments behind the hotel and was walking through the area to a convenience store to get his wife and children something to drink when he encountered another man. The family was told an argument occurred before the shooting.
The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office said the shooting followed a verbal altercation. Saveon West, 24, was arrested less than 24 hours later and accused of murder.
People who live in the area said they feel safer following the arrest. Tenant Edward Boudreau said the property still does not have security, but side doors that had been left unlocked were fixed. He also said several people who did not belong at the property were removed.
“They don’t have security still, but they had an issue with the side doors being unlocked; they fixed that,” Boudreau said. “They removed a lot of people here that really didn’t belong here, so things have quieted down quite a bit.”
The property manager declined to comment and directed questions to the corporate office.
Newsome’s family and friends are asking the community to help prevent gun violence.
“Gun violence, we really need the gun violence to settle down in the city,” the friend said. “This is just too much hurt and pain on all the families.”
