ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. — The parking lot outside of the Walden Chase community pool was the scene of an investigation following a shooting Wednesday night.
St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office deputies swarmed the Walden Chase neighborhood after shots rang out from a vehicle that fled the scene. The shooting required a man to be taken to a hospital via helicopter.
At this time, police are still looking for a black Honda Civic that they say sped away from the parking lot in front of the pool after the shooting. The St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office says the man who was shot Wednesday night is expected to survive. All signs of an investigation are now gone from this pool, but neighbors who spoke to First Coast News said they’ll remain vigilant.
A hot summer day at the pool was a drastically different scene than what unfolded less than 24 hours before. Deputies and forensics teams combed the parking lot looking for clues to the shooting in this quiet Ponte Vedra neighborhood that sent a man to the hospital.
But that didn’t scare everyone away the next day.
“I’m not concerned about coming here with my family to the pool because of what happened last night,” said Alex Castellanos, who said crime like that is extremely rare for his neighborhood.
“I’ve been here for 23 years and this is the first time that’s happened here, so I’m not afraid of anything that’s going on here,” said Castellanos.
The St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office said the shooting was isolated and that there’s no threat to the community. The pool and activity center at Walden Chase have a number of security cameras around the property, but at this time law enforcement has not released security footage of the shooting or the car that sped away after the shooting. However, Castellanos said the neighborhood association has been responsive to neighbor concerns in the past.
“Nease High School is over here and there’s a lot of traffic through here,” said Castellanos. “That’s why they put these boulders up because all the cars used to cut through here instead of going through the roundabout.”
While his family and other families in the Walden Chase neighborhood enjoyed the pool, Castellanos says it’s important to remain vigilant regardless of where you live.
“Even now, just going to Walmart or Publix or just shopping, you always have to be ready no matter where you live whether it’s Ponte Vedra, the Westside or St. Augustine, shootings can happen anywhere and you have to protect yourself and your family," Castellanos said.
At this time the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office is calling this an active investigation and haven’t released many details about the suspect, only to say that they’re looking for a black Honda Civic that drove away.