JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A family friend of the victim killed in Saturday night's shooting inside a hotel restaurant in Downtown Jacksonville has shared a photo of the teen with First Coast News.
The family friend said we could share the victim's picture, but did not want to give his name due to privacy concerns.
“He wasn’t just a victim, he wasn’t a troubled child or anything like that. He was very easy going," said Mary Dennis.
Dennis calls herself family, her granddaughter was dating the victim at the time of his death.
He was 19 years old and a recent graduate of Ed White High School, the family friend said. He wanted to go to college and was talking about going into the military.
Dennis says the 19-year-old went by the nickname Pooh. He was out celebrating his birthday the Saturday he was fatally shot.
“He was doing it with his friends and so they ended up there," said Dennis. “He wasn’t mad or anything or had said anything about being angry about anybody so, so we just know where this came from it’s just totally out of the blue.”
The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office was called to the Hyatt Regency Jacksonville Riverfront hotel Saturday night around 10 p.m. When they arrived, they found a victim in the bathroom of the Morton's The Steakhouse with life-threatening injuries, police said.
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On Tuesday, JSO issued an arrest warrant for 29-year-old Cory Deshawn Hall for murder and attempted murder in connection with the shooting.
On the night of the shooting, JSO said their initial investigation revealed that an altercation took place inside the men's bathroom of the restaurant, leading to the suspect shooting two victims. The other victim suffered non-life-threatening injuries, according to JSO.
Hall has black hair and black facial hair under his chin, JSO said. He is 5 feet, 7 inches tall and weighs approximately 150 lbs. He is considered armed and dangerous and should not be approached.
Dennis said pooh was pronounced dead at the hospital Sunday afternoon.
"We got a call from the mom from upstairs saying that at 5:17 they pronounced him dead. So we all just gathered around and we continued to pray," said Dennis.
Dennis hopes the community can learn from the loss of this young life.
“Urging the young black men or any male anybody to, let’s stop the violence, I’m talking about black on black, black on white, it doesn’t matter Let’s just stop the violence let’s start putting the lord first and think more about the lord," said Dennis.
Anyone with information on Hall's whereabouts is urged to call the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office at 904-630-0500 or email JSOCrimeTips@jaxsheriff.org. You may also remain anonymous by calling First Coast Crime Stoppers at 1-866-845-TIPS.