JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Jacksonville Sheriff's office has released photos of two suspects and a vehicle that were at America's Best Inn on Dix Ellis Trail when a 10-year-old was shot.
A silver sedan and two men are identified in the photos, which are embedded below.
The shooting
A 10-year-old was injured when the occupants of the sedan pictured above exchanged gunfire with the man pictured on the left.
The incident occured around 8:07 p.m. April 20.
Police responding to the scene found a 10-year-old girl who appeared to be suffering from a gunshot wound to the leg. She was taken to a nearby hospital and is expected to be OK, JSO said at the time.
An 11-year-old girl was injured as well during the incident, but JSO said her injuries were minor. They did not say she was shot.
Both were both outside playing when the incident occurred, police say.
JSO said the incident happened as a result of an altercation between a man who was on the top level of the hotel and a man in a newer model four-door sedan who was in the parking lot.
Police said the man on the top level fired at the vehicle, which then sped away in an unknown direction.
The suspect on the top level fled on foot, police said.
Police have been called to the area more than 100 times
Councilman Danny Becton has a vision for Jacksonville's Baymeadows area. However, the road to progress has a few hurdles. One of them, Becton said is America's Best Inn on the 8200 block of Dix Ellis Trail.
"It's been a blight in the community for several years," Councilman Becton said.
Recently, the two girls were injured in a shooting. According to the city, the property's infrastructure is unsafe and unlivable. Residents who've called the hotel home for years will have to find another place to stay. One tenant said his mother is bedridden and she would need a stretcher to move out.
What is home for these people, has been frequently visited by the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office. In May of 2021, Councilman Becton said the police were called to the area more than 100 times. First Coast News obtained records from January 1, 2021 to April 19, 2022. Many of the calls police responded to involved: investigations, disputes and property checks.
"I really hope this is the beginning of the end in terms of this property really trying to find a solution to all their problems," Becton said. "And I don't know what that looks like."
The councilman said it was either fix and renovate the property or demolish it.