JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Aug. 26 is a day that many in Jacksonville will not forget.
On this day two years ago, two men were killed and nearly a dozen were injured in a mass shooting at the Jacksonville Landing.
For those who had loved ones in the former marketplace, the date brings back strong emotions.
Elijah Clayton, 22, and 27-year old Taylor Robertson, both professional gamers attending a Madden NFL tournament inside Good Luck Have Fun game bar, were fatally shot. Police said they had been targeted. There were 10 others injured before the suspect turned the gun on himself.
Melissa Mitchell described the phone call she received from her mother moments after shots were fired. Mitchell’s two children and mother Lisa were in the family shop just across a sidewalk from the scene. They took cover in a bathroom after hearing the shots.
“Mom told me a police officer came in and escorted them out,” Mitchell said, “They had been in lockdown about an hour.”
Her family has tried to put the situation behind them. After the Landing was sold and eventually torn down, Mitchell’s boutique, Beautifully Divine re-opened in Murray Hill. She says her daughters, who are now two years older, are also trying to move-on.
“So it’s definitely a hardship on the kids just because they see it and people are talking about it so I approached their guidance counselor to give them a rundown on what happened and sit them down and kind of talk to them about the experience and if there were anything the school could do, not to offset the tension, but give them guidance,” Mitchell said.
