JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A woman shot a man who was trying to force his way into her Durkeeville home Wednesday morning, the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office said.
Terrell Brown, 24, was arrested on a charge of unarmed home invasion. Brown appeared in court on Thursday, noticeably limping. He was charged with home invasion robbery and held on $500,000 bail. He is due back in court on May 25 and was ordered not to have any contact with the victim.
Detectives said a man, later identified as Brown, followed the woman from a nearby store to her apartment on Steele Street, near the intersection of Myrtle Avenue.
According to the arrest report, Brown chatted her up as she got to her door, then grabbed her by the neck and told her to give him everything she had.
When he tried to get inside, police said, she went into the bedroom and got a gun. Police said there was a struggle for it, and it discharged four times -- one of the shots hitting Brown.
He ran and called police from the Myrtle Street near Sixth Street, saying he had been shot. He was taken to UF Health Jacksonville with a non-life-threatening injury to the torso, officials said.
Police quickly connected the home invasion with the injured man. Brown was later booked into the Duval County Jail.
The woman told police that she did not know the man who tried to rob her. Officers said she would likely not face any charges.
Residents said crime is all too common in the neighborhood. According to the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office, in the past 30 days, there have been 112 police calls within a 1-mile radius of Wednesday's shooting, including 34 assaults, eight robberies, 17 thefts and 15 burglaries.
Last week, a man was shot in the hip, beaten up and his belongings were stolen on King Street, less than a mile away.
"Every time I turn a corner, I wonder what's going to happen," said Shane Powell, who has worked in the area for 20 years. "It's just the younger generation. They don't have the mentorship to point them in the right direction, and this is what happens."
Authorities locked down the Mount Herman Exceptional Students Center as a precaution until police confirmed the gunman was in custody.