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Despite recent shootings, officials say violence is decreasing in Jacksonville

Remarks come after city experienced three shootings within 48 hours

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A fatal Saturday night shooting on Wiley Road Park marked the third shooting in Jacksonville within 48 hours, with the first occurring Friday on Herlong Road and the second taking place several hours later on Harts Road.

RELATED: 2 dead, 2 injured in 3 separate overnight incidents in Jacksonville

ICARE Executive Board member Geneva Pittman said that despite these recent shootings, violence continues to decrease in Jacksonville.

“We’ve learned from the sheriff, that he has a special task force that’s working to combat the violence that’s going on because, in our research, we discovered that it’s just a small group that’s perpetuating the violence that’s taking place in our city,” Pittman said.

She adds that she‘s confident that the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office is “on top” of these recent shootings and hopes they will continue their work to keep violence in the city contained.

“We met with our sheriff, and we congratulated him and his task force on what they have done to stop the violence,” she said. “But you know, there’s still some going on, but we’re hoping that he will continue to work to keep the violence down.”

Wiley Road Park shooting

A man died and another had non-life-threatening injuries after a shooting at a park on Jacksonville‘s Westside on Saturday night, according to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office.

RELATED: 37-year-old arrested following Westside Jacksonville ‘crime spree,’ police say

Investigators said at around 7:30 p.m. Saturday, off-duty officers were at Wiley Road Park when they heard gunshots.

The officers found two men with gunshot wounds and Jacksonville Fire and Rescue took one of the men to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries and the other man died at the scene.

No arrests have been made and the incident remains under investigation.

Herlong Road shooting

A shooting happened around 9 p.m. Friday on Herlong Road, near Lindsey Road, in the Normandy Manor neighborhood.

According to police, before officers arrived, the man who was shot drove himself to a local hospital with a non-life-threatening gunshot wound.

Police said the man was walking in the area when an unknown suspect shot him.

Police added that it appears the man was targeted and believe the situation was an “isolated incident.”

Harts Road shooting

Around 3 a.m. on Saturday, a shooting occurred on Harts Road in Jacksonville’s Northside.

hen officers arrived, they found a man in his late 20s suffering from a single gunshot wound. He was transported to an area hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, according to JSO.

Initial investigation revealed multiple people arrived at the location and shot several times in the direction of the man, police said.

No arrests have been made in any of the three incidents, according to police.

Anyone with information regarding the shootings mentioned above is asked to call JSO at 904-630-0500, email jsocrimetips@jaxsheriff.org, or call CrimeStoppers at 866-845-TIPS.