JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Detectives with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office are trying to piece together what caused a Super Bowl party to turn violent late Sunday night.
Authorities believe an argument broke out after one of the men at the party was “roughing up” someone else’s girlfriend in a home. That altercation then moved outside and led to shots being fired, but the details leading up to the shooting are still being investigated.
Officers said a woman and two men were shot. All three are in the hospital with injuries.
Officers did not say if their injuries are life-threatening but did say the woman was shot in the face and the leg. One of the men was shot in the groin and another man was shot in the abdomen.
“I was sitting in the house, and I hear this pop-pop and at first, I thought it was fireworks celebrating the Super Bowl and then in quick succession, we heard a quick pop-pop-pop like 10 or 15 times,” said Lauri Kruszynski, who called 911.
She said she’s thankful her 6-year-old grandson didn’t wake up, despite the violence.
The shooting happened at a home on Plymouth Street, east of Cassat Avenue, in Murray Hill just before midnight. When officers arrived, they saw a vehicle speeding away from the scene.
“As they were coming down, there was a white car in the end of the driveway, and it started backing up really fast and hit the trash cans that are there and strewed trash all over the ground, all over here,” Kruszynski said. “By then the cops were here, they tried blocking him in, but he went over on the grass and the SUV policeman tried to block him, but he scraped down the whole side of the drivers-side door, the car took off.”
After a short pursuit, the vehicle flipped several times at Lenox Avenue and Weeks Road, and police were able to arrest the person inside. Authorities are not yet sure what role that man played in the shooting.
Another resident who declined to be identified said gunshots came through the window of their home and lodged in the side of their house.
“Very, very scary,” the neighbor said. “When I heard gunfire, I got down.”
Violent crimes detectives are still investigating.