JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A woman was left in critical condition Tuesday morning after she was shot at an apartment complex in the San Jose neighborhood, according to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office.
The shooting was reported about 6:30 a.m. at the Kings Crossing Apartments on Old Kings Road South near Toldeo Road.
Police said the suspected shooter is in custody, and they believe it was a domestic-related incident.
News4Jax captured video at the scene of a man being placed into a police cruiser in handcuffs as he cried, "I killed my wife. I killed my wife." We have blurred the man's face because he has not been named as a suspect or charged.
Police did not say what the relationship was between the woman and her suspected shooter. They said she was shot in the side. She was found outside near a tree and was taken to a hospital in life-threatening condition.
A woman who lives at the complex told News4Jax that seconds after she heard the gunfire, the couple's 6-year-old son knocked on her door, saying: "My daddy killed my mommy." She brought him into her apartment and her husband called police.
"I was so worried about the mom and the little boy because he witnessed that," she said.
Our crew saw the little boy being moved to the back of a police car at the scene and then driven away.
According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, one in 15 children are exposed to intimate partner violence each year and 90 percent are eyewitnesses to that violence. In cases such as this one, the Florida Department of Children and Families will step in and place the child with a family member it deems fit.
Jacksonville police have not announced an arrest or released the name of the victim or the suspected shooter.
They said when officers arrived at the scene, the suspected shooter fled but later returned and was taken into custody.
A white car at the entrance to the complex was photographed by crime scene technicians before it was hauled away as evidence.
Statistics show women between ages 18 and 24 are most commonly abused by someone with whom they are in a relationship, and the presence of a gun in a domestic violence situation increases the risk of homicide by 500 percent.
To learn more about domestic violence or get help, the following resources are available:
- Hubbard House (Baker and Duval counties): hubbardhouse.org or (904) 354-3114
- Micah's Place (Nassau County): micahsplace.net or (904) 225-9979
- Betty Griffin House (St. Johns County): bettygriffinhouse.org or (904) 824-1555
- Quigley House (Clay County): quigleyhouse.org or (904) 284-0061