JACKSONVILLE BEACH, Fla. - Jacksonville Beach Police have called the recent string of shootings in the heart of the city’s downtown district “rare” and said most of the people responsible for the violent crime are not beach residents.
“The numbers show that the majority of our violent incidents are from people that do not reside in Jacksonville Beach,” Commander Thomas Crumley said. Crumley said that included people from the City of Jacksonville and beyond.
A man was found on the beach shot in the back early Monday morning near the Pier. In a separate incident, police found shell casings outside the Blind Rabbit Saturday morning. They do not believe anyone was hit by gunfire in the Saturday incident.
The most recent shootings come a week after the shooting death of Leon Bennett and nearly a year after the death of Glen McNeil, who was killed hours after July 4, 2017 celebrations in Jacksonville Beach.
“It’s happened how many times now? Just too close for comfort,” Lisa LeCroy, who lives just across the Intracoastal Waterway from Jacksonville Beach, said. “When I first moved here, all the shootings and stuff were over on the other side. And now it’s getting a little too close for home.”
Commander Crumley said police increase staffing and change patrol methods to deal with the influx of people during the summer months. As for whether people should be concerned to venture to Downtown Jacksonville Beach, Crumley said people need to be cognizant of where they are, what they’re doing and what’s going on around them.
But some people, like LeCroy, have already made their decision.
“I used to enjoy coming down here at like dusk, watching the waves come in, stop and have a bite to eat, a drink, and I won’t come without my husband,” she said. “It doesn’t matter where you live. It eventually catches up to you.”
Jacksonville Beach Police say there are often precursor events, like fights that happened earlier in the night, to these shootings. Ahead of the July 4 holiday, police remind the public to say something if they see something that could escalate to violence.
“Our goal is to provide the safest, most family-friendly environment that we can,” Crumley said. “And rest assured, that’s what our police department is doing.”