JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – As Hurricane Helene was making its way through Jacksonville on Sept. 26, an unknown person shot and killed a man near the New Town neighborhood.
Jacksonville police said around 8 p.m., officers were on West Beaver Street, when they heard gunshots in the area of Eaverson Street. When they arrived at the scene, they found a man, identified as 36-year-old Brandon Holcomb, had been shot multiple times.
Holcomb died at the scene.
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Holcomb’s mother, Ericka Kohn, said the last three weeks have been unbearable.
“All I do is just cry. I cry all day, all night,” Kohn said. “I have not slept since September the 26th, I have not eaten since September 26th. I have not done anything but pace and walk, pace and walk. If I can bring my child back, I would.”
Kohn said Holcomb had been renting a room in the area for the last couple of months. She said he was a creature of habit, using the majority of his day taking an Uber to and from his job.
Though he was close with his family and loved ones, Kohn said he kept to himself in the neighborhood.
“Everybody spoke highly of him,” Kohn said. “They’d say he was a respectable guy.”
From the time Holcomb was little to the final years of his life, the bond between mother and son was unshakable.
“He used to say he looked just like me,” Kohn explained. “And people say, ‘you look just like your mama’. He was like, ‘who are you telling, we‘re twins’, you know? He was just a special child, you know, they always brought joy to the family.”
During her interview with News4JAX, Kohn’s cousin, Pamela Williams stopped by for support.
Williams lost two children to violence. Though they were years apart, the pain is always present. That pain is felt by the entire family. “I lost two kids, and it was hard for me to have to be there for my cousin and to, you know, to be strong for her,” Williams said. “I have my good days and I have my bad. We’ve just got to move and be there for each other.”
As she moves forward, Kohn has a powerful message for the person who took her son’s life. She also has a plea.
“I forgive you, I don‘t want nothing to happen to you,” Kohn said. “The only thing I want you to do is turn yourself in, because I’ll never see my baby again. Anybody can come see y’all behind glass, but I’ll never see my baby again. When I put him in the ground on October 5th, I’ll never see him again.”
News4JAX reached out to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office for a status update on the investigation. A spokesperson released the following statement:
“This continues to be an active investigation. Our detectives are working diligently on the case. As more information develops and becomes available for public dissemination, we shall release it.”
Anyone with information on Brandon Holcomb’s case is asked to contact the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office at 904-630-0500. Email tips can be sent to: jsocrimetips@jaxsheriff.org. To submit tips anonymously, call CrimeStoppers at 866-845-TIPS.
