JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Friday marks one year since Daniel Rowe, 20, was shot and killed behind the Blind Rabbit restaurant in Riverside.
The young father, who worked at the popular restaurant on King Street, was taking out the trash when he was shot twice in the head, police said. He died later at a hospital.
News4Jax spoke with Rowe’s parents Thursday evening. Steven Rowe said his son had a heart of gold.
“It’s a lot of what ifs, but with all the what ifs, I would never change the person that he was. So, if I don’t want to change him, I have to accept that he was being him at the moment that it happened,” said his mother, Raelyn Rowe.
Rowe was engaged to be married and left behind three children.
“There’s never going to be a father-daughter dance. There’s not going to be him being there when they graduate. He’s not going to be there to walk them down the aisle. So, it’s truly, like I’ve said before, it’s just indescribable, all the emotions that just tangle into one. You go instantly from grieving and being sad to being angry to, you know, feeling sorry for his kids,” Raelyn Rowe said.
A vigil for Daniel Rowe is scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at the corner of King and Post streets.
Police said two men are responsible for the shooting but only have a vague description of them running away from the scene.
Since then, better lighting has been added to the area behind the Blind Rabbit.
No arrests have been made in Daniel Rowe’s death, and police have no leads. There is a $20,000 reward being offered for a tip leading to an arrest in the case. Anyone with information is asked to contact Crime Stoppers at 1-866-845-TIPS.