JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A young man shot and killed Sunday evening on Jacksonville’s Eastside was the latest homicide victim in Duval County.
The fatal shooting of the man, who police said may have been about 18 years old, happened at an apartment complex on Bridier Street, which is in a Cure Violence zone.
Cure Violence, a program designed to go into crime-ridden communities, said it is saddened by the shooting. Cure Violence members said their work is just beginning as they try to maintain peace.
“They are going to start making sure there isn’t any retaliation from this because one life lost is one too many,” Cure Violence Program Implementation Director Damien Cook told News4Jax on Monday.
Cure Violence will also talk with the young man’s family to begin the healing process.
Cure Violence is working in zones on Jacksonville’s Eastside and Northside. Both zones are fully staffed and although violence hasn’t completely stopped, Cook said, progress has been made.
MAP: Cure Violence Target Areas
“Since the beginning of the program, the two sites have done 125 mediations and about a hundred of those would’ve led to shootings, so that means about 30 lives have been saved specifically from the work of the credible messengers in the streets every day,” Cook said.
There are two programs within Cure Violence. One is Bridges to the Cure, which has done 104 mediations and met with more than 3,000 people. The second is Noah’s Ark Project. It’s done 21 mediations and met with more than 6,000 people.
Data from last year provided by Cure Violence
| Site name | # Mediations | # Daily logs | # Key individuals met | Hours in community | # Community activities | # Part. activities | # Presentations | # Shootings | # Homicides | # Responses |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bridges to the Cure | 104 | 623 | 3,194 | 3,448.5 | 9 | 2 | 2 | 21 | 11 | 48 |
| Noah’s Ark Project | 21 | 936 | 6,026 | 2,972.5 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 5 | 4 |
“We are very hopeful about the opportunity that they are being able to come to the table by doing this work and we look forward to more success moving forward,” Cook said.
In an effort to further keep peace, Cure Violence will be working with UF Health to talk with victims to reduce potential violence. That program begins at the end of the month.
Cure Violence is not affiliated with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office.