JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A Northwest Jacksonville jewelry store owner shot Thursday night in a struggle with two robbers managed to shoot one of the masked men attempting to rob him, the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office said.
The wounded robbery suspect showed up at a hospital just after 10 p.m. Thursday and died from his injuries Friday, police said. He was identified by the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office as Kurt Dean, 24.
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The jewelry store owner suffered non-life-threatening injuries, police said.
According to a police report, the owner was locking up Jax Jewelry, on West Edgewood Avenue near Moncrief Road, when two masked men confronted him at the back door of the store. A fight ensued inside the store, and the owner was shot but was able to shoot one of the men, who ran from the scene, police said.
The owner walked a couple hundred yards around to the front parking lot of the shopping center and collapsed, police said. A security guard from the nearby Winn-Dixie saw the man collapse and ran over to help.
The guard, Leon Davidson, said he reacted the way he hopes anyone would have. He said that out of compassion and concern he did everything he could to keep the jewelry store owner awake and alert until help arrived.
"I walked out. The gentleman was basically sitting in a pool of his own blood," Leon Davidson said. "We gave him a tourniquet on the arm. We kept him awake, talked to him about his family. Just questions to keep the man conscious."
The owner was taken to UF Health after rescue units arrived.
"It's a sad thing that the man was just trying to feed his family, take care of his family, and something bad like this happens to him," Davidson said.
A woman working at a nearby business asked not to be identified but said normally she feels safe at work because it's in a big plaza that frequently has police presence. But after last night, she's not sure it's enough.
"It makes me afraid for where I work," the woman said. "I will definitely be making sure that everyone in the area is around each other so that we leave at the same time. That way we don't spread out. We leave at the same time."
Police said they have the owner's gun and one spent shell casing in evidence.
News4Jax is not naming the owner because one of the robbers has not been caught.
Anyone with information about the attempted robbery is asked to contact Crime Stoppers at 1-866-845-TIPS.