JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Family members are speaking out after they say their loved one was shot and killed early Saturday morning at an apartment complex in Arlington.
According to investigators, a group of people were in the parking lot of the Oakwood Villa apartment complex when a car pulled up and someone inside began shooting.
Family members said 30-year-old Juan Morales was shot and killed in the drive-by shooting at his fiancee's apartment. Police are still looking for the shooter.
Morales leaves behind five children, ranging in ages from 2 to 14 years old. He had three children with his fiancée, who said it has been tough trying to explain to the youngest ones why their father isn't home.
She said that she has left the apartment complex and doesn't plan on going back.
"Nine years of my life has been taken from me just like that," said the fiancee, who asked not to be identified because the shooter has not been caught yet.
She said that Morales loved his kids, loved helping others and loved spending time with his friends. She said ongoing violence issues in Oakwood Villa are just one of the reasons she isn't returning to the complex. She said it's hard because she has so many memories there with Morales.
"He's just gone. Someone just took my fiancé away from my kids," she said. "My oldest is 5. My kids ask about him every day, every night. How am I supposed to tell my kids that he is gone?
Morales' mother, Debra Gilley, said that she had just seen Morales on Friday and made plans with him to take his family to a lake on Saturday afternoon to swim, something she said they'd also done the week before. She said she will miss his smile and the many conversations they had.
"I got a hug every day. I was told ‘I love you' every day. I will never hear that again. It's hard," Gilley said. "The only smile I will see now is that one there. And the smile on his kids' faces. I will never see it from him."
Morales' mother and his fiancée both said that it is time for violence like this in Jacksonville to end.
"The violence in Jacksonville is senseless," Gilley said. "Too many people are dying. Young people, for no reason. Foolishness."
"Why can't everybody get along in this world? It's not even worth it," Morales' fiancee said. "You are killing someone else, and you are going to get caught eventually. Why would you take someone else's life for your life?"
The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office said that this investigation into the drive-by shooting is still ongoing. Police have not said whether or not they have any suspects in the case, but anyone with any information about the shooting is asked to call CrimeStoppers at 1-866-845-TIPS.