JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Police are asking for the public’s help to identify the people involved in a shooting last week that left a 10-year-old girl wounded at a motel on Dix Ellis Trail.
The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office released surveillance images Tuesday of a person who officers said exchanged gunfire with someone in a silver sedan last Wednesday at America’s Best Inn in the Baymeadows Center area. Police said there were three people in the sedan, which sped away from the scene.
Before it drove off, the driver got out to remove a traffic cone from the road, police said.
Surveillance images of the driver and the sedan were also released.
The shooting was reported just after 8 p.m. April 20. Police said the 10-year-old girl and an 11-year-old girl ran when the shooting started and the 10-year-old was hit by a bullet. The 11-year-old was also treated for an injury at the scene.
News4JAX went to the motel on Tuesday and showed the surveillance images to several people still living there. No one knew the people pictured by name.
The Sheriff’s Office is asking for the community’s help in identifying the two individuals. If you have any information related to this incident, you are asked to contact the Sheriff’s Office at 904-630-0500 or through email at JSOCrimeTips@jaxsheriff.org. To remain anonymous and potentially receive an award, you can contact Crime Stoppers at 1-866-845-TIPS (8477).
News4JAX looked at records from the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, finding there have been 826 calls for service since Jan. 1, 2021, to the extended stay motel.
Also last week, News4JAX learned that residents were forced to move out of Building No. 1, which had been deemed unsafe and condemned. An inspector found damage to the second floor landing between two rooms, according to a report, which also showed there were large cracks seen in concrete flooring that extend across the building. Management for American’s Best Inn told News4JAX that it was moving people living in Building No. 1 to the other two buildings and that the city was giving them assistance to move to another location.
Then, people staying at America’s Best Inn received notice that they had to vacate the property due to renovations. As of Tuesday, people still at the hotel were frustrated and still had questions about when they have to leave.