Sheriff T.K. Waters and the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office held another crime prevention safety walk Saturday morning. Waters and dozens of officers spoke with residents about concerns they may have in the city and plans in place to make it safer.
JSO officers, city councilman Reginald Gaffney Jr. and other crime prevention groups, including M.A.D. D.A.D.S joined the walk in the Highlands neighborhood on the city’s northside. The route included stopping at people’s homes on Monaco Drive, Beckner Avenue, Conrad Drive, Ake Lane and Doniphan Drive.
“You know what this does? It builds partnerships,” Waters said about the crime prevention walks. “It builds community trust.”
This latest walk came during the most violent week Jacksonville has experienced in months.
Thirteen people were shot around different parts of Duval County since July 15, according to News4JAX records. Two people were killed.
Those on the walk Saturday say the recent violence is frustrating.
“All this tells me is that we have to continue to keep working,” Waters said. “There is a lot of work to do.”
“This tells me we have to keep hitting the streets,” said A.J. Jordan, who is the outreach coordinator for M.A.D. D.A.D.S. “Keep connecting with our neighbors. Keep letting them know that if we are going to solve this issue, it is going to take JSO, the community, city council and our mayor.”
“JSO cannot do this alone. It takes an army,” said Gaffney, who represents district 8 in city council. “It takes mothers, it takes fathers, it takes JSO, it takes me, it takes the whole entire community. We want to be proactive and get out here before we get another shooting.”
There were two shootings in different parts of the city early Saturday morning.
One of those shootings happened a little bit before 1:30 a.m. in a strip mall parking lot on Edgewood Avenue near Broadway Avenue.
Sgt. Richardson with JSO says two men were shot after a fight broke out in the parking lot. They were both taken to a hospital to be treated for non-life-threatening injuries.
12 miles away in the Regency neighborhood, a man was shot while in this car at the intersection of Atlantic Boulevard and Live Oak Drive just before 3 a.m. He was taken to a hospital and also treated for a non-life-threatening injury.
Throughout the week there have been other serious cases, including a 9-year-old girl being shot in the throat on West 19th street Thursday night while inside a house. Police say two or three shooters showed up at a house and fired several shots into it before leaving. Seven people were inside at the time, including the girl. She was the only person hurt.
Three men were also shot Thursday in different shootings but were coincidentally at the same location on Lane Avenue on the Westside.
Two men were shot in one of the parking lots at Cocktails Bar and Lounge just before 2 a.m. Thursday. One of the men was killed and the other was seriously injured.
Just before 8 p.m. that same night, detectives went back to that scene to continue investigating. While they were there, they heard gunshots.
Officers found a man shot outside out of a car. He was rushed to a hospital where he later died.
All involved in Saturday’s event said more of the walks need to happen as the push for crime reduction and public safety in Jacksonville keeps going.
“With all these folks showing up, it shows that there is a real care and concern about what we have going on [in Jacksonville],” Waters said. “Not everyone is disinterested. The people of Jacksonville really, really care.”
“That could be us,” Gaffney said about the latest stretch of shootings. “It is important that we get out here and we all work together so that we can stop this.”
Waters held a town hall Wednesday night at the Prime F. Osborn III Convention Center.
The people in attendance heard about JSO’s realignment project which will change the current zones to districts and a new program called ‘Connect Duval’ which Waters said will help officers get evidence quicker.
He also detailed “Connect Duval,” a voluntary program where residents can sign up and have their cameras registered with JSO to allow the department, if needed, to get evidence quicker and solve crimes.
Saturday, Waters also mentioned JSO’s “Sheriff’s Watch Program,” which is held for an hour once a month. Residents can attend a meeting at their respective subsectors and speak with the department’s district commander to discuss issues affecting that particular area.
According to News4JAX records, the number of shootings so far in 2023 is down 20%.