JACKSONVILLE BEACH, Fla. – One of the people involved in one of three shootings at Jacksonville Beach on Sunday has been identified by police as a “certified gang member.”
A certified gang member is someone police have previously arrested and charged with some kind of gang-related crime.
According to News4JAX Crime and Safety Expert Tom Hackney, this gang member in particular was forced to make the tough decision to go to the hospital after being shot, fully realizing the weight of surrendering himself to doctors and police.
“‘Am I going to live, or am I going to go get treatment for the gunshot wound?’ understanding the ramifications of that are, and apparently that’s what happened in this case,” Hackney said.
Hackney has decades of experience in law enforcement and was previously the director of investigations in Jacksonville. He said the person currently in police custody is likely the most critical witness to Sunday night’s shooting incidents — which killed one person and injured three others — in the busy downtown bar district of Jacksonville Beach.
RELATED | Timeline of St. Patrick’s Day shootings in Jacksonville Beach
News4JAX asked Hackney about the prevalence of local crime directly related to gang activity, and just how many gangs he suspects are operating within the Jacksonville area.
“There’s probably about 55 gangs here in Jacksonville with maybe 500 members loosely, some that you can’t put the certified tag on, but may be tied to the certified gang members, but what the unfortunate thing is of those 55 gangs, they are responsible for so much of the city’s violent crime,” Hackney said.
Police said drug-related shootings and domestic violence crimes make up another large portion of the gun violence tied to gang activity in the River City.
Police in Jacksonville Beach have not said if the multiple shootings on Sunday are gang-related. But Hackney said behind the scenes, police are looking into every possibility, and using gang members’ social media footprint to their advantage.
“Fortunately, for law enforcement, a lot of these gang members will put their information out there, be it from YouTube or rap videos, where they talk about their involvement, and show pictures of themselves and others with other known gang members which is a piece of becoming a certified gang member. So, if you’re doing things with those that are certified gang members, and wearing certain colors that are associated with gangs, that helps law enforcement as well,” Hackney said.
Jacksonville Beach Police have not identified the person they have in custody and it’s possible they may not for quite some time.
According to Hackney, police oftentimes keep this kind of sensitive gang information to themselves for the time being, while they work to identify everyone involved in Sunday’s violence.