JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Two undercover narcotics detectives shot a 20-year-old armed man Wednesday night on the Westside, according to the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office.
Christopher Green, who has been charged with carrying a concealed firearm, had surgery at UF Health Jacksonville for three gunshot wounds and was reported in stable but serious condition Thursday.
The two detectives, who are not being identified by JSO because they are still involved in undercover operations, have been placed on administrative leave until the investigation is finished.
One of the detectives is a 54-year-old black man and eight-year veteran with JSO. The other is a 36-year-old black man who has been with JSO five years. Neither has been in a police-involved shooting before.
JSO director Tom Hackney said the undercover narcotics officers were driving along Wilson Boulevard about 6:20 p.m. Wednesday and came to a stop at Fouraker Road, where they saw three men in a heated argument.
While sitting at the light, the detectives saw Green (pictured in a previous booking photo from Miami) on the sidewalk screaming at two men across the street.
As they drove through the light, the detectives saw that Green, who was on the right side of the road, was holding a gun. They pulled over and called patrol officers to the area.
As they were pulling over, Green began waving the gun around and yelling.
"To protect the group that's across the street, they get out to confront the male holding the gun and waving the gun," Hackney said.
As the detectives approached, Green hid the gun behind his back. When they attempted to detain him, Green reached behind his back for the gun in his waistband, Hackney said.
As he went for the gun, the detectives pulled their weapons and fired four times each at Green, who was struck at least three times -- once each in the abdomen, arm and leg, Hackney said.
One of the bullets fired hit a couple's minivan as they were driving to church. The woman in that car said she was terrified they had been shot until they realized they weren't bleeding.
"All we want from subjects that we encounter is for them to comply with our orders," Hackney said. "Accountability will be held for those eight shots that were fired last night."
Hackney said that this is the fourth police-involved shooting in Jacksonville this year.
A viewer shared cellphone video showing Green on the ground after the shooting. News4Jax has blurred the faces of the undercover officers.
UNCUT: Viewer video of aftermath of police-involved shooting
Hackney said Green was involved in a shootout with another unknown suspect Sunday night at Normandy Park near the basketball courts. No one was hit in that incident.
Green called police, but not until 45 minutes after the shootout and told them he had thrown the gun he used out a car window as he drove away from the park. Police never found that gun and believe it's the same gun he had with him Wednesday night when the detectives confronted him.
Police found shell casings at the park, including some from a 9mm, which they are comparing to the gun Green had Wednesday.
Green was previously Baker Acted, but not arrested in Jacksonville, as the result of an incident with a firearm when he was 18. Last year, Miami deputies arrested him for assault but the charge was quickly dropped.
The Baker Act incident happened at his Westside home. The report from that incident said Green removed a loaded handgun from his mother's safe after they got into an argument and put it to his chin and head, yelling that his mother wanted him dead. She called police, and by the time they arrived, he was outside and no longer armed. He was taken down and handcuffed. Officers found one bullet in his pocket.