JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A naked, shotgun-wielding man was arrested Friday morning after trading gunfire with police during a standoff in Jacksonville’s Regency neighborhood, authorities said.
The standoff began shortly after midnight after police received a call about an armed domestic dispute between a mother and her son on Kendall Drive near Ballard Ridge Road, according to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office.
It ended about six hours later with the woman’s son taken into custody on a list of charges.
When police arrived at the home, they found 28-year-old Amante Carter of Georgia nude in the middle of the street carrying a shotgun and a can of gasoline, Assistant Chief Brian Kee told reporters. Kee said Carter told officers he was going to burn down his mother’s house.
Carter then barricaded himself inside the home and officers were able to get his mother out safely, Kee said. He said Carter threatened to shoot responding officers, so the SWAT and crisis negotiation teams were brought in to bring the incident to a peaceful end.
“He shot the shotgun inside the home at least three times between 3 a.m. and 5:45 a.m.,” said Kee, adding that the interior of the home was “destroyed.”
About 6:20 a.m., Carter came to the front door with a gun and a SWAT officer fired a round, which did not hit him, the assistant chief said. He said Carter fired back and police returned fire, but none of the rounds struck anyone.
“Apparently he had some issues up in Georgia, as well, and I don’t know what caused him to go into that state of mind,” Kee said.
After the exchange of gunfire, a naked Carter came back outside, dropped the shotgun and surrendered to police, the assistant chief told reporters. He said Carter suffered minor injuries during his arrest.
Carter, who was visiting from out of town, was taken into custody and booked into the Duval County jail on charges of aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, felony criminal mischief, resisting, open carrying of a weapon and making threats.
Two officers, 11-year veteran Paul Cross and 21-year veteran P.L. McCranie, fired their weapons during the incident, according to police. Both have been placed on administrative leave, which is routine whenever officers fire their guns in the line of duty.
Neither officer wore a body camera during the incident, Kee said.
Duval County jail records show Carter remains in custody at the facility on $115,000 bond.
The incident took neighbor Jamerson Franklin by surprise. Franklin, who has lived in the area since 2014, said he could not tell whether the commotion he heard was gunfire and celebratory fireworks.
“I couldn’t differentiate between fireworks or real gunshots, but to know that someone in the neighborhood like that is kind of alarming because I have a young son and he plays around the community,” Franklin said.