JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The family is in mourning and searching for answers after learning a man was killed on Sunday in a Westside shooting.
Baron Dixon, 21, was shot in his car on Christmas Day by the intersection of Normandy Boulevard and Chaffee Road.
Gina Gibbs, Dixon’s mother, told News4JAX her heart stopped when she received the news of her son’s death.
“I felt like I was going to die in that moment,” Gibbs said. “He was just joking, fun, loving. Like a good Samaritan type of child. He helped everybody he could. All he wanted to do was be a good father.”
Gibbs said Dixon, who had a passion for fixing cars, was working on starting a lawn mowing business so he could put his fiancé, Haley Barnhill, through nursing school.
“I didn’t believe it. I didn’t believe he was shot. I tried to call and he didn’t answer. Then I heard he was at the hospital so we left and tried to go to the nearest hospital on Normandy. He wasn’t there, so we called around to other hospitals. Then we went there. He was still in the car,” Barnhill said.
The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office said it found Dixon suffering from a gunshot wound around 4:30 p.m. on Sunday when the medics arrived he had died from his injuries.
His mother said he was headed home after buying a car to repair and sell to help start his business.
“That’s why he was going to buy the car. He was going to fix it up and sell it so he could the rest of the equipment he needed to start his business,” Gibbs said.
At the time, a person of interest -- who also called the police -- was detained for questioning. JSO has not provided further details and is still looking for the person responsible for Dixon’s death.
“We wish somebody would help come forward. Tell us something. Give the police something. It seems like the news reports make everybody think that they have a person that did and they don’t. We still don’t have answers,” Gibbs said.
The family has started a GoFundMe to assist with financial expenses.
If you have any information you’re urged to call JSO at 904-630-0500 or Crime Stoppers at 866-845-TIPS.