JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Jon Dantzler, an Ed White High School football player, was the 17-year-old shot and killed last night at McGirt’s Creek Park, News4JAX has learned.
Dee Webb, a football instructor ambassador at Ed White High School and former Jacksonville Jaguars player, said Dantzler played with the junior varsity team and attended Horizon North Campus.
Webb said he’s heartbroken and shocked another teammate is gone too soon. He said this isn’t the first Ed White High School football player that’s been killed and he wants the gun violence to stop.
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Officers said the 17-year-old was with other teenagers in the park when the shooting happened.
Dantzler and the other teenagers left the park and drove to a Publix Parking lot off 103rd Street and that’s where officials were called and where they found Dantzler dead.
“Coach he text me this morning, early this morning and let me know what happened in the situation,” Webb said. “It’s sad to continue to have to bury kids the same age as my son, which is like, ridiculous.”
Another Ed White High School player, Raymond Hill, was killed in 2019. That case is still unsolved.
Webb said Dantzler played with the junior varsity team and was a gifted athlete that was going to be moving to varsity this year.
“He was more like the hype man. Everybody pretty much related to him. For us, like getting team hype get people going and things of that nature,” Webb said.
One of his other close friends named Dee made a video to honor Dantzler.
Webb said he hopes people will come together to stop this violence.
“Actually being at the school and community doing stuff with them, taking them places showing them things. I think that’s what helped me because I lived in that same community that he was raised in,” he said. “And I know that’s what helped these younger men now, versus just leaving football practice going home being on the streets.”
JSO said there is no suspect yet in the case.
Webb said he wants to be a mentor to young men in the community so they don’t turn to violence.
“I feel like everybody gets, they lose hope on the young kids saying they won’t listen, they don’t listen, they listen, they will do the time but it’s all about who receives who all given the message,” he said. " We have to show them it’s cool to have families, have jobs, being business owners, or whatever else you want to be rather than clique up with other people and go do a bunch of foolishness that’s gonna lead you down to these paths or even jail.”