JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – It was a deadly Halloween weekend in Jacksonville. Six people were shot and two died.
Among the dead is Jocori Jones, 17, who police say was gunned down early Sunday morning on East 19th Street near Henry Brown Kooker Park.
On Monday, News4Jax spoke to people who knew him and by all accounts, Jones was a good kid who people described as sweet and respectful.
A neighbor said where Jones was shot was just a few doors down from his home, where his father heard the shots.
“Wherever he went, if you know him, he always gonna make you laugh,” father Terrence Bozman said. “Just a good person to be around.”
Bozman said Jones was a typical 17-year-old boy.
“He played video games, liked to talk on the phone. He ain’t never caused no problem,” Bozman said.
Jones had three younger brothers who looked up to him. His father said he worked at a warehouse and was a student at A. Philip Randolph High School where he was set to graduate next year.
According to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, Jones was with a group on 19th Street around 2 a.m. when a silver car pulled up and someone inside started shooting.
Jones was killed and a teenage girl was hurt and is expected to recover.
“I don’t know how I wrap my brain around it, because I heard the shots,” Bozman said.
Bozman said he was just getting out of the shower when he heard seven to 10 gunshots. His first thought was to check on his son. Bozman said he checked his son’s room before running outside still wearing a towel. Just feet away he saw his son.
“Lying there lifeless,” he said.
Bozman says life is different now.
“Usually he just comes up to me, dad this, dad that, dad, can you take me to work? Dad, can you pick me up from work? Now, I don’t even hear none of that now. So me waking up is just like a whole, just a dream,” he said.
Whoever killed Jones is still out there.
“I need answers, something got to be served,” Bozman said.
Bozman said his son’s dream was to be a merchant sailor when he grew up.
If you know anything about what happened to Jones, you’re asked to call the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office at 904.630.0500.
Anonymous tips can also be made to CrimeStoppers at 1-866-845-TIPS (8477).