JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A recent carjacking in a UF Health parking lot is sparking concerns about the safety of hospital employees and students.
On Monday morning, a woman was carjacked at gunpoint in the parking lot near the intersection of Doctor Roy Baker Street and West 11th Street.
The woman told police around 8:30 a.m. she got out of her car and a man with facial tattoos approached her and put a gun to her face. The arrest report said he stole her Volkswagen SUV and her cellphone.
Police identified the alleged carjacker as 27-year-old Edward Colton, who is a recently released convicted felon. Police used a license plate reader and the woman’s “Find My iPhone App” to track the stolen SUV.
A Be-On-The-Lookout alert was also issued for the SUV and Colton.
Hours after the reported carjacking, Colton was caught at a traffic stop on Burke Street in the Lackawanna area.
The UF Health Jacksonville alert system also issued a message to employees to let them know what happened.
“It’s frightening,” the husband of a hospital worker told News4JAX. “We knew it was something that was happening and could happen with the area, but for it to actually happen in broad daylight like that is pretty alarming and disheartening.”
The husband wanted to stay anonymous because he feared that the hospital would retaliate against his wife for speaking out on her behalf.
News4JAX crime and safety analyst Tom Hackney is a retired director with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office. He said if you’re being held at gunpoint during a carjacking, it’s better to comply with the carjacker’s demands but also take a mental note of their description.
“Are they wearing a hat? What does their hair look like? What does their face look like? What kind of clothes are they wearing? What kind of shoes did they have? What did they say to you? That’s the kind of information law enforcement needs,” Hackney said.
This carjacking wasn’t the first time a crime has happened near UF Health since the beginning of this year.
According to JSO’s crime map, there were two burglaries, a burglary involving an assault, two vehicles stolen, and 15 assaults and batteries within 1,000 feet of the hospital.
Some of those assaults were on first responders and security personnel.
Hackney said crime in that area has been an ongoing problem for decades.
“That’s such a large area of folks parking and some of the lots are isolated so this is nothing new, unfortunately. The hospital over the years has done what they can to beef up their security, but unfortunately, it is what it is,” he said.
Hackney suggests traveling with several co-workers to get your car safely.
The husband said his wife and her co-workers have held discussions about their safety.
“She and everyone she knows are very scared because again, they have to park blocks away and walk outside. All of the parking lots they have are gated but they’re open. And again, they’re not close to anything, you have to park blocks away and walk and so the risk is there every day, and they all know it,” he said.
A UF Health spokesperson said the hospital would not comment on safety concerns and that all questions should be directed to JSO.
A JSO spokesperson told News4JAX that because UF Health is a private facility, UF Health would need to address its safety concerns.
The JSO spokesperson also said their officers will support UF Health with any safety concerns.