JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A fun day at the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens quickly turned into a scary one for Brittany Reed.
Reed tells First Coast News she was visiting the Zoo with her three daughters and their father when she first saw a helicopter circling above.
She says they were making their way towards the exit when they saw people running, and felt like something wasn’t right.
Someone stopped them before they could exit the Zoo and told them that no one could leave or enter the zoo.
They were ushered into a gift shop as the Zoo went on lockdown.
The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office later confirmed that an officer-involved incident happened near the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens.
"I have them kinda sitting on the ground against t-shirts and stuff because, like, obviously not to be funny, but if something crazy happens and bullets start flying I want them as low as they can be," Reed says.
She continued, "So, I just let them have their chips and stuff and had them sitting on the ground. And they just keep looking over at me and their dad... I'm trying to keep my cool, for sure. I'll be a lot happier when we are told we can get in our truck and go home."
As of 4:36 p.m., the shelter in place was lifted by JSO.
“You see this stuff on the news obviously, but we don’t really live it … not … it has just been pretty wild.”
Other guests seemed un-phased.
Theresa Alonso and her family were able to eat their lunch and continued with their visit. "We kind of kept going through the park. My kids were unaware of the situation, which was good," she told First Coast News.