JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A man was shot and critically wounded by an officer Tuesday night in Northwest Jacksonville, according to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office.
Police said the shooting happened before 10 p.m. at Spring Grove Avenue and Cord Avenue in the Royal Terrace area.
According to the Sheriff’s Office, a family was monitoring their son’s Facebook page when a live video popped up showing their house with three men inside holding guns and making a Facebook Live video.
Police arrived shortly after, initially thinking it was a robbery. Once inside, officers tried to stop the men, but they ran and dropped several guns.
Police said an officer told one of the men to drop a gun, and then fired. The man was hit and rushed to the hospital with critical injuries.
No officers were hurt.
News4JAX obtained surveillance video in connection to the shooting. Gunshots can be heard right before a man is seen sprinting through a neighbor’s front yard.
The officer is then heard yelling “Drop the gun now! Drop the gun! Get on the ground! Drop the gun. Put your hands up!”
The man and the officer are out of frame, but the officer can be heard asking questions.
“Hey, Did you get shot?” The man responds but it’s difficult to make out. The officer says, “Crawl to me, crawl to me, crawl to me.”
More officers are then seen pulling up to Spring Grove Avenue and West 41st Street.
A man who asked not to be named said he was lying in bed as the incident unfolded.
“All I heard was four gunshots. I looked out the window and police cars were everywhere,” he said.
JSO said officers rendered aid after the man was shot.
News4JAX crime and safety expert Ken Jefferson said the officer followed protocol.
“The police don’t really know what they’re going into other than maybe a possible armed burglary. They have to act accordingly,” Jefferson said. “You can’t fault the police for their actions.”
Officers said three semi-automatic firearms were recovered in the home. Police haven’t said if they have arrested the two other men who were at the house.
“You’re in a situation where you’ve got to comply with what police are telling you. They’re there because they were called. They didn’t just happen to pop up. They were called there,” Jefferson said.
The family who lives at the house wasn’t there but watched things unfold on social media. Police said there is a possibility that one of the men lived at the house and it is unclear at the moment if the men were making a music video. Police said they haven’t seen the video the men were making.
The State Attorney’s Office is investigating, and the dive team was seen out in a pond across from the house looking for evidence.
Neighbors said this is unusual for the neighborhood.
“I grew up around here. Never had anything like this before,” said Kevin LaVant.