Jacksonville police, federal agents seize guns from Westside home

Rifles, handguns confiscated after woman placed under Baker Act, police say

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Jacksonville police and federal agents on Friday confiscated guns from a home in the Fairfax neighborhood on the city's Westside.

Officers with the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office and agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives went to the home on Lexington Avenue, near the intersection of Roosevelt Boulevard and San Juan Avenue, after residents reported last weekend that multiple gunshots were randomly fired by a 61-year-old woman while she was inside her home. 

"We heard a total of seven gunshots in a matter of five minutes," neighbor Deborah Yasmine said. "It was awfully terrifying.”

According to police, the woman who owns the house also owned multiple firearms and has a history of mental problems, including being placed under the Baker Act multiple times. 

When officers arrived at the home last weekend, they found two bullet holes in the front window. The 61-year-old woman told police that she started shooting because someone was trying to break in.

Officers said they later found more bullet holes inside the home, but no signs of a break-in.

According to the police report, one of the bullets hit a neighbor's home.

"They saw the bullet lodged into her bedroom wall, which is 2 feet away from where she was standing in the bathroom," Yasmine said. 

In the police report, an officer wrote the woman said, “You can’t have my gun. Donald Trump owns it.” 

Police said they took her to the Mental Health Resource Center, where she was placed under the Baker Act.

Police returned to the home Friday evening with ATF agents to seize what appeared to be an arsenal of rifles and handguns.

Investigators were being tight-lipped about how many guns they removed. A new law allows law enforcement to take away a person’s gun if that person has mental health issues. 

News4Jax learned that the 61-year-old woman had been previously placed under the Baker Act four times before the latest incident. Police said she was talking to herself about people wanting to harm her.


About the Author:

Award-winning broadcast and multimedia journalist with 20 years experience.