JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Undercover detectives with the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office were shot at while working in an Eastside neighborhood Friday afternoon. None of the detectives were seriously injured, but one suffered a laceration during the shooting.
According to JSO, the undercover detectives were working in the area of Florida Avenue and East 22nd Street. They saw a man approach the intersection and immediately starting shooting at their car. JSO said the man did not interact with the detectives before then.
The suspect drove away in a silver Toyota sedan. Investigators are now trying to determine why he shot at the car and whether he knew the detectives inside. First Coast News Crime and Safety Analyst Ken Jefferson said they will also be trying to figure out if their cover was blown.
"For someone to just pull out a gun around them to shoot somebody, they had to think something, they had to think that these were officers or maybe they thought it was a gang member or something coming into their territory or whatever. We don't know yet, we can't speculate," Jefferson explained.
The detectives were doing routine undercover work in the area. Jefferson said undercover officers are usually trying to gain information when they are out in the field.
"If they're doing narcotics work, they're trying to take drug offenders off the street. They could do a buy bust where they buy the drugs and they bust a person later on. They could be meeting with informants, getting information as to who's the players, where they hang out, what's their MO, how do they typically operate? Things of that nature," Jefferson said.
Jefferson said it is very fortunate none of the detectives were seriously injured. He said while these shootings involving undercover officers are rare, it is still a dangerous job.
"It's kind of like you're in a skit and you have a role to play, and that role is to pretend that you are what they are: a criminal. And you have to think like them, you have to act like them in certain degrees, without breaking the law of course. You have to follow your guidelines, but that's the role of an undercover officer," Jefferson explained.