JACKSONVILLE, Fla — More questions than answers remain in the shooting death of 18-year-old Dari'one Flanigan, but one year later his mother is still calling for justice and is sending a strong message: her son's life is more than a statistic.
Speaking to mark the somber anniversary and to renew a community-wide call for information, Vonette Nixon remembered what she described as a close relationship with her youngest son.
"You learn to live with your children, but you're never taught to live without them," Nixon said, "so it's an everyday struggle."
On Monday, June 24, 2019, Dari'one Dewone Sheron Flanigan was at a BP gas station in the 2900 block of North Main Street in the Urban Core area of Jacksonville when shots were fired.
While details surrounding the shooting remain hazy, it is known that another victim of the shooting drove Flanigan to nearby UF Health.
Nixon said she had spoken with Flanigan for nearly an hour that morning, which was earlier than their typical 2 p.m. chat. Looking back, she said that call was a gift.
"We said we love each other as we normally do, and that was the last time I spoke to him," she said. "To me, it was God giving me my opportunity that morning to be able to speak with him and say goodbye, but I didn't know that I was saying goodbye."
Later in the day, Nixon got a different call that would change her life.
"I just had got off work," she said. "I got a call saying that my son was in a car that had been shot up and that he was unresponsive."
When Nixon arrived at UF Health, she was told her son had died.
"My son was not a number, he was a human being," Nixon said. "He was a young man that had a future and it was cut short. I want justice for my son."
Nixon said detectives told her Flanigan was "in the wrong place at the wrong time," and she said the shooting did not appear to target him.
The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office originally came under scrutiny for not reporting the shooting to the media, only doing so two days later on Wednesday. JSO sends out information to outlets on shootings and other serious crimes or traffic crashes through a system called EARS, but an EARS was not sent at the time.
In fact, reporting by our news partners at the Florida Times-Union was only able to identify Flanigan through a funeral notice and family. On JSO's homicide tracker, Flanigan's name is not listed and there are no public statements available.
First Coast News reached out to JSO for the incident report and any new information related to the investigation. We are waiting to hear back.
"At the end of the day, he was a young black man that had a future. And he was robbed of that," Nixon said.
Now 365 days later, Nixon has never stopped advocating for justice for Flanigan, posting on social media daily and talking with other parents of shooting victims.
"You know I'm fighting for Dari'one but I'm also speaking for other angel moms as well," she said. "At the end of the day, it's not just my son that we have not gotten justice for, it's a lot of other mothers and fathers out there that are seeking for justice for their children as well."
Nixon is represented by attorney John Phillips. Phillips said he wants more transparency from JSO surrounding evidence and new developments in the shooting investigation.
"I'm as patient as can be, but it's been a year," Phillips said. "We need to move the ball forward. We're doing the same thing over and over again, and I think there's video of the shooting but they're not communicating that to us."
Tips to JSO can be submitted over email at JSOCrimeTips@jaxsheriff.org or by phone at 904-630-0500. You can also remain anonymous and contact First Coast Crime Stoppers at 1-866-845-8477 (TIPS).
"There's this no snitch code. But what about when it comes to your front door? Then you're gonna be in my shoes, then you're gonna want someone to speak up," Nixon said.