JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A 21-year-old man was found dead Monday morning in a front yard of a home on West 31st Street near Moncrief Road, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office said.
According to JSO, someone was walking to work when they saw the body lying on the ground in the yard around 7:15 a.m. JSO said the man was suffering from at least one gunshot wound.
By the time the Jacksonville Fire and Recuse Department made it to the area, the man was dead, JSO said.
The man’s dad, Kevin Follow, confirmed his son, Kevon Follow was the person killed. His father lives in Lakeland and moved out of Jacksonville because of the crime.
“If somebody seen something they need to come forward and tell,” Kevin Follow stressed. “He was a victim of senseless violence. Please stop the violence in Jacksonville.”
“Every year, a life is taken. Just like today, a life was taken in my neighborhood, and I feel real bad about it,” said neighbor Mark Maddrick.
The 65-year-old said he’s lived in the neighborhood his whole life.
Next-door neighbors said they heard gunfire just before 7 a.m. and then someone yelled “Kevon got hit!” As word spread about Kevon Follow’s death, his family started to gather at the home.
Vernon Pandy is Kevon Follow’s cousin and he told News4JAX that he was speechless after hearing his cousin was shot and killed.
“I was just in disbelief because I just talked to him a couple of days prior when I was at my mom’s house. For me to get the phone call from his dad that this happened, I immediately got off work and came,” Pandy said. “He’s going to be really missed by his family.”
It’s not the first time, Pandy said, that the family has lost a loved one to gun violence.
“Last year in April, my other cousin – the same type of thing off McDuff (Avenue). The food truck owner,” Pandy said. “We just went through that and my family still grieving over that, so it’s a process and it’s just one thing after another.”
Kevin Follow said his son said his son loved to play football and sports as well as play with kids in the neighborhood.
“Kevon was good with music. He loved music. He aspired to rap,” Pandy added.
Detectives are in the early stages of the investigation.
“It’s extremely important to be able to come forward. It’s the community that these people live in that are actually helping us solve these cases. So, we strongly urge the community to come forward so we can solve this individual’s murder,” JSO Sgt. J. Catir said at a news briefing.
If you know anything that can help police, call JSO at 904-630-0500 or Crime Stoppers at 866-845-TIPS.
This marks the second homicide reported in Duval County in the first two days of 2023.
There will be a candlelight vigil on 1545 West 27th Street on Friday at 4 p.m.