JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A woman shot Friday morning in a house on Third Street Circle South -- off Melson Avenue, a couple of blocks from James Weldon Johnson Middle School -- died at the hospital, according to Jacksonville police.
A homicide detective said the woman was inside just before 11 a.m. when she was shot but was outside by the time Jacksonville Fire-Rescue personnel arrived. Police said three or four other people were in the home at the time of the shooting and they were all detained for questioning. Neighbors said those who were detained were residents living in the house.
“We’re working quickly to determine how they were involved,” Sgt. Doug Molina said.
A man who identified himself as the victim’s brother said she was shot in a drive-by, but Molina could either confirm nor deny that.
Neighbors say they often hear fighting coming from the house where the shooting occurred.
“That we’re still working on these circumstances and what led up to it and how it’s involved but I can’t say for sure if it is domestic,” Molina said.
A resident said this was the first shooting on the street in two years, but News4Jax found there is a considerable amount of crime in the area. According to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office crime map, there have been 68 incidents within the last month within in a one-mile radius of Friday’s shooting. Those incidents included 19 assaults, 3 burglaries, 37 thefts, including car break-ins, four motor vehicle thefts and three robberies.
The shooting was unsettling to nearby residents, including one neighbor who was watching TV in his bedroom.
“I heard a shot,” he said. " I saw the girl walking out the house and I saw a guy run behind her. He picked her up. They were on the side. Then I saw another guy come out wearing red white and blue."
“It makes me feel unsafe being in this neighborhood,” another neighbor, who also did not want to be identified, told News4Jax.
According to News4Jax records, this was the seventh homicide in Jacksonville this year. This was the first woman killed. All seven victims died of gunshot wounds.