JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A Jacksonville family is devastated after they said their dog was shot by a neighbor on Saturday in the Fort Caroline area.
Hollie Jackson recalled her emotions as the incident unfolded.
“I was terrified,” Jackson said. “It stunned me. I just, I thought, in my wildest dreams, there’s no reason for a gun to be pulled here.”
That was the reaction she had after a man pulled out his gun and shot her dog, Lacey.
Jackson let her two dogs out of the car so they could run into the house, but Lacey saw two dogs and ran up to them and their owner.
“I immediately went after her and there was a man with the little dogs holding them, and she circled around them, not growling, barking, being aggressive whatsoever,” Jackson said. “I said to the man, ‘I’m sorry. We just got around the car. I’ll grab her.’”
Jackson said he then threatened to shoot Lacey, but she begged him not to.
“When I looked down, Lacey was then next to me, within a few inches, and I look over and he has a gun pointing at me and Lacey,” Jackson said.
She then heard a gun go off and noticed Lacey was shot.
Filled with many emotions, Jackson held Lacey until her final breath, then she called 911.
“I was devastated,” Jackson said. “Lacey is part of our family, you know, having to call my daughter away at school and let her know that this happened to her, and just everything we’re going through the loss of her. She was, you know, she didn’t deserve that, and this was not a justifiable shooting.”
News4JAX Crime and Safety Analyst Tom Hackney said this investigation would go into the hands of Animal Care and Control.
“City organization, city department would look into the circumstances of this, and again, probably reach back out to JSO, and should work hand in hand with them at completing that criminal investigation,” Hackney said. “It would involve the State Attorney’s Office making some decisions about charges, whether they would or wouldn’t be filed.”
The Jacksons said they just want answers.
"Who knows what could have happened with that bullet, if it would have gone through Lacey into my mom or if he missed,” Jackson said. “We feel a crime was committed, and we want him to answer for why he did to Lacey.”