JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — An 18-year-old man was shot multiple times by a Jacksonville sheriff's officer Monday morning after police said he threatened a family at a Popeyes restaurant.
In a press conference, Jacksonville Sheriff's Office Chief Alan Parker said the 18-year-old, identified as Cerry Banks, has "been having an inappropriate text relationship with a 13-year-old female."
Parker said the mother of the 13-year-old girl "became alerted to what was going on," and she "started conversing with this guy [Banks] herself."
The girl's mother then set up a 7 a.m. meeting with Banks at the Popeyes located at 649 McDuff Ave. South, to "meet him and confront him," according to Parker; she showed up with her 13-year-old daughter and her 11-year-old son.
"They show up to talk to the suspect, and he confronts them with a pistol in his waistband, lifts it and says, 'When you hear the shots tonight, you'll know what's up,'" Parker said. "So, the mother grabbed the kids, they went inside the Popeyes. The suspect walked around the back of the business at that point."
The sheriff's office said the mother then called police to report the confrontation. When Officer Garrion Robinson arrived, Banks was still standing outside behind the restaurant.
"So, [Robinson] gets out of the car, starts confronting the suspect, says, 'Hey, let me see your hands, turn around, let me see your hands,'" Parker said. "The suspect isn't really complying, but he's just kinda slow-moving. He slowly turns his back to the officer, and he takes off running around the back of the business."
Parker said Robinson then started chasing after Banks, and as he came around a corner, he saw Banks pull a pistol from his waistband.
"He yells for him, 'Drop, stop, gun, gun, gun,' engages suspect, he shoots him multiple times," Parker said. "The suspect continues around the neighboring business and drops the gun. He continues running. The officer tracks him and loses sight of him, so the responding officers set up like a perimeter. K9 responds to assist with the search and they find the suspect, he had crawled up in like a drainage, like culvert."
Banks was then placed into custody and taken to a local hospital where he is stable, according to Parker. The police chief further stated during the press conference that Banks was shot "once in his hand, there's something in the torso and maybe one [time] in the leg."
This is JSO's 7th officer-involved shooting in 2024, according to Parker. For Robinson, this is his first, Parker said.
"We'd absolutely love to handle every situation, but this is a mother who's concerned about her daughter," Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters said during the press conference. "So, I get it, I understand. But, I would say that in most in cases, in situations like that, call us and let us come out and deal with the situation, so it doesn't unfold like this."
Banks faces charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon (two counts), lewd/lascivious conduct (two counts), unlawful use of a two-way communication device and traveling to meet after using a computer to seduce/solicit/lure a child. His bond is set at $700,000.
