JACKSONVILLE BEACH, Fla — Witnesses say chaos and confusion overtook Jacksonville Beach Sunday evening when police put out an active shooter alert for what they now say was three separate shootings, one of them deadly, within 40 minutes.
Multiple videos taken from near the Jacksonville Beach Fishing Pier show a crowd of people running amid screams.
"Chaos, it was definitely chaos,” said Michael Sandoval about the incident.
Sandoval was on the beach with his girlfriend on Sunday. He described a series of gunshots and more than 50 people running from near the pier. His girlfriend started running too, though they were farther away.
The gunfire came from the first of three shootings, Jacksonville Beach Police say. One 21-year-old was killed in one of the shootings.
Police described the crowd as a type of fight club. First Coast News spoke with one of the organizers of the group who said it was an event that was supposed to include fun and games on the beach.
“Parents picking their kids up and screaming," Sandoval said describing the scene. "People just telling everyone else like, ‘Get out of here! Go!’ It's so sad.”
Dylan Capps works nearby and says he and his coworkers heard gunfire from all three of the shootings.
“A bystander got hit," he said about the person who was killed. "This isn't just two groups shooting at each other. That could be someone's kid, that could be my dog. This is crazy. We pay good money to live here and I guess we need security because I don't feel safe.”
Capps says the community is becoming numb to violence that’s costing lives.
“Right behind where I live, Sneakers, very close to home, somebody died there," Capps said. "So they had us lockdown. It’s a problem. We all live here, we all work here, we can't even step outside our house sometimes.”
Capps believes holidays at the beach are becoming increasingly dangerous. He says he worries about the impact of violence on businesses and hopes there's more security, especially on holidays.
The shooting suspects are still on the run. Anyone with information on any of the shootings is asked to call police or leave an anonymous tip through First Coast Crime Stoppers at 1-866-845-TIPS (8477).