JACKSONVILLE, Fla. –
After seven people were injured, two critically, when three gunmen opened fire on a group of people at Eureka Gardens early Monday, city leaders and national lawmakers demanded more needs to be done to protect residents at the federally subsidized housing complex.
Pastor Mark L. Griffin, who is running for a state House seat, challenged Global Ministries Foundation, the owner of Eureka Gardens, to hire 24-hour security for the apartment complex. He said roaming patrols are not enough.
Griffin's Wayman Ministries, which is across the street from the complex, hosted an emergency meeting Monday afternoon, hours after the shooting, to discuss safety at Eureka Gardens, which is on Jacksonville's Westside.
“The overall mood was more dismay,” Griffin said. “These people have been working very hard. We just got to the point were people where not ashamed to say they lived in Eureka Gardens, and to have this happen is a step back.”
A couple dozen Eureka Gardens residents were at the meeting, along with U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown, D-Florida, who shared a letter she wrote to U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro requesting that HUD immediately provide dedicated 24-hour security at both Eureka Gardens and Washington Heights, another GMF-owned complex. She also asked about security gates and upgraded security cameras.
“We need cameras, gates, 24-hour security, not just in this property but the other property (Washington Heights). This has been a bipartisan issue,” Brown said. “This has been going on for some time now. We want them to act and act now.”
Brown said the HUD budget has been cut drastically and she has dealt with a similar scenario for housing in Sanford. She said it took years for that to be resolved. She believes, however, that the needs of Eureka Gardens and Washington Heights can be improved quickly.
“Our No. 1 responsibility is to make sure the residents are safe,” Brown said. “That’s the first thing, and they are not safe.”
U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Florida, will be in Jacksonville on Tuesday to meet with local officials to discuss the situation at Eureka Gardens. Nelson, who also sent a letter to Castro, will meet with officials at 2 p.m. at his Jacksonville office at 1301 Riverplace Blvd., Suite 2010.
Sheriff re-evaulating resources after mass shooting at apartment complex
Mayor Lenny Curry called Sheriff Mike Williams as soon as he heard about the shooting Monday. He said he's very concerned about the violence and "remains vigilant in his efforts to improve public safety."
At a community forum Monday evening, Williams said the Sheriff's Office will re-evaluate their resources after the mass shooting at Eureka Gardens.
"It's a blow in that community because they have worked with us and we have worked so hard together to really begin to turn the corner there. And so it's tough when you have an event like this," Williams said.
Currently, police officers circle around Eureka Gardens, but no 24 hours a day. Williams said he thought enough resources had been allocated for the community. Now, he said his department will redefine its focus on the apartment complex.
"Have we missed something somewhere? Have we not anticipated the outcome of maybe some reduced resources somewhere else? So we will take a look at that. My gut is that we have out there what we need to have out there. But again, we just got to continue to knock on doors and build those relationships and it will help us overcome things like this," Williams said.
Residents asked if the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office could step in to help monitor security.
"Companies have gone out and they have hired officers to work in the complex. And we, obviously, allow that and encourage that. And we have officers that come before work and after work and check in on the complex. But in terms of assigning someone there, we currently could not do that," Williams said.
Security chief says crime is down
News4Jax also spoke with the head of the security company overseeing Eureka Gardens. The company said at the time of the shooting, its patrols were on duty at Washington Heights.
Chief Marcus Williams, of Protective Enterprises of Florida, said the neighborhood has been put on high alert, meaning that the maximum number of patrols allowed are being placed in the complex.
Marcus Williams said that his security team has built relationships with tenants that have helped reduce crime in the area. He said residents can call a 24-hour hotline at 904-601-1884 to report incidents and community violations. For emergencies, residents should still call 911.
“If you see something going on, we want you to say something and be comfortable making contact with your community officer on the ground and informing them what's going on the property,” Marcus Williams said. “We work 24 hours a day … so we respond to service calls whether an officer is on property or not. If there is a service, whether it’s loud music or something as a community rule violation, we are going to respond.”
Marcus Williams said the open-door policy seems to be working. He said aside from Monday's shooting, crime has dropped.
He said his team also keeps a database of incidents and people involved for future reference, and they wear body cameras.
Marcus Williams said he decided to get the cameras because he thinks they play a vital role in getting both sides of a story. He said when his officers find themselves in an uncertain situation, all they have to do is turn the cameras on and start recording.
Leaders want more done
After the shooting and a federal raid of GMF properties in other states last week, City Councilman Garrett Dennis has requested officials from HUD meet with residents. GMF has put its Jacksonville properties, including Eureka Gardens and Washington Heights, up for sale, along with other properties it owns.
"With the lack of security at the complex and ownership questions, the residents need some answers from HUD," Dennis wrote in an email to HUD. "With the pending sale, it is apparent that the current owners are doing the bare minimum and this is, again, at the expense of the residents."
Dennis also attended the meeting at Wayman Ministries on Monday afternoon.
GMF issued a statement Monday addressing the safety concerns:
Our hearts go out to those who were injured by the brazen actions of the criminals who appeared during the night at Eureka and terrorized the families living there and in the surrounding community. We are actively working closely with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office to help identify those responsible and bring them to justice swiftly. Though we know of no Section 8 owner that has 24/7 armed guards, Eureka Gardens has targeted paid security and surveillance technology to cover the expansive multi-block, family-style community. To support the JSO and City leaders as they tackle the high rates of violent crime in the area, GMF significantly increased security measures as soon as we purchased the property. It is precisely this type of unlawful activity that has made the job of providing Jacksonville families with safe and affordable housing extremely difficult, as those in law enforcement who put their lives on the line every day can attest.”
"HUD is alarmed and looking at any ways we can work with management to improve it (Eureka Gardens). We have no way of speeding up a sale," HUD spokesman Jereon Brown said.
Previous crimes at Eureka Gardens
Before being plagued with deplorable housing conditions, Eureka Gardens was once one of the most dangerous apartment complexes in Jacksonville.
It was a homicide hot spot, with 17 murders occurring there between 2007 and 2014. It was considered so dangerous that pizza delivery companies stopped going there at night.
One of those 17 victims was Marissa Kelly, a mother of five who was shot to death in 2007 when she went to her house to get her children winter clothing. Their father was later charged.
That year alone, eight people were murdered at the complex and makeshift memorials became all too plentiful, along with the tears from those left behind.
The next year, News4Jax covered Griffin's crime prevention efforts.
"Instead of deploying police, we're going to deploy pastors,” Griffin said then.
It was called Project Crime and involved volunteers going door-to-door talking with families, initiating a gun buyback program and a neighborhood watch and trying to get children involved in the church.
That year there were no homicides at the complex.
But there were two more in 2009, three in 2010, one in 2011 and two in 2014 that were believed to be tied to gang violence.
The last homicide at the Westside complex was that of 15-year-old Demantrae Franklin, who was shot in the back in October 2014 when he went to meet a girl. His murder remains unsolved.
African Methodist Episcopal pastors again blanketed the community, hoping to change the culture for children and for the future.
News4Jax found that over the past six months, JSO has responded to 45 assaults, one armed robbery, but no homicides, within a quarter-mile of the complex.
The tenants were upset Monday morning, saying they have made progress in terms of safety and they don't want to go back to the neighborhood's troubled past.
Anyone who has any information on Monday's shooting is asked to contact the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office at 904-630-0500 or email JSOCrimeTips@jaxsheriff.org. To remain anonymous and receive a possible reward of up to $3,000, contact Crime Stoppers at 1-866-845-TIPS.