JACKSONVILLE, Fla – Neighbors living along the normally quiet, short and narrow thoroughfare known as Boulder Street in the South Riverside neighborhood near San Marco continue to be on edge following a drive-by shooting reported back on the early morning of Dec. 5.
News4JAX obtained surveillance video of the incident that shows a what appears to be two people in a black sedan using semiautomatic weapons to fire multiple rounds into a home. Thirteen seconds after the last bullet was fired, the car speeds away.
Surveillance video from shooting below. Disclaimer: Some may find the footage graphic in nature.
News4JAX spoke with a woman who lives in the house with her two sons and daughter. She agreed to an interview as along as her name was not published. She said she and her daughter were sharing a bed when suddenly, bullets began penetrating the house.
“I threw her off the bed, rolled onto the floor and stayed on the floor. I called 911 and prayed that we were going to be okay,” the woman said.
Despite the home being riddled with bullets, no one inside was injured.
“I am beyond shocked that no one was hit,” the woman said.
A neighbor who was at her home with her young child said they were fast asleep when their normally quiet street suddenly got loud.
“There was lot of gunfire. It paused for a second, then kept going. It was the most terrifying thing I’ve experienced,” the neighbor said.
Jacksonville City Councilman Matt Carlucci lives in a home less than five minutes away by car and works out of an office that is only two minutes away by foot.
“I got a team of ladies working in my office, and they’re concerned about it,” Carlucci said.
He was so outraged over what happened that he said he contacted Sheriff Mike Williams. Carlucci said he has since been in contact with officers who are investigating the incident.
“They feel like it’s a localized drive-by shooting and not just random, but I think we all need to be aware of our surroundings because you never know that for sure,” Carlucci said.
Carlucci also told News4JAX that the investigators he spoke with believe the drive-by shooting could be gang-related. However, the woman who lives in the home told News4JAX she disagrees with that claim.
“I don’t believe it’s gang-related, but I do believe it has to do with social media,” the woman said.
Although no one inside the home was hit by gunfire, there was still the threat of a stray bullet hitting another house.
“My biggest concern in this situation was not only me and my innocent daughter, but also other innocent neighbors who had a 7-week-old baby and had to run in fear of their life for nothing they had to do with,” the woman said.
One of the occupants of the home that was struck by gunfire also told News4JAX a car that looks like the car seen in the surveillance video has been spotted slowly driving past the house.
The woman who was in the house during the shooting was asked if she feels safe.
“No. I have not been there since. I left with dirty clothes in a basket and that’s it. I walked away from everything and I am scared to go back,” the woman said.
People living along that area are not accustomed to the gun violence seen in the surveillance video, but Carlucci said gun violence can erupt in any neighborhood.
“We seldom talk about gun violence in this area like we do in some other areas, but we’ve had a quite a few shootings going on, even in San Marco and in the Miramar area that we are not used to,” Carlucci said.
A JSO crime map that was adjusted to show specific crimes within a one mile radius of Boulder Street between Nov. 1 and Dec. 13 turned up some interesting findings. According to the map, there were:
- 5 assaults, including two that involved the use of a deadly weapon
- 5 vehicle thefts
- 3 home burglaries
- 14 thefts
- 1 robbery
In the meantime, the woman who was in the house that was shot at is asking the people responsible and others who feel the need to settle difference with violence to put the guns down.
“These individuals don’t take the time to think about everybody else around, about everyone else who have absolutely nothing to do with it,” she said. “You’re hurting very innocent people at this point.”
As of publication, it was unclear whether police have identified suspects in the case.