JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A father of two people shot in a mass shooting last month is speaking out about the state of Jacksonville and what he feels needs to happen to stop the violence.
The father, Abdul Robinson, was also wounded in the Jan. 16 mass shooting that happened after a rap event at a gentlemen's club. A total of six people were shot, one of whom died. The man who died was Robinson's 25-year-old son, Willie Addison, who was an aspiring rapper.
Addison was in a truck with five other people at the time of the shooting, which was described as being gang-related. His father, who was driving, said he had to act fast.
"I guess two or three cars pulled up on the side of us and shot inside our car over a hundred times, killed my son in the front seat, shot my son in the back -- in the head -- three times, shot my nephew several times. A couple more passengers in there were shot several times, numerous times," Robinson said. "I drove all the way from there to Memorial Hospital, shot in the back myself twice."
It's been a month and no arrests have been made in the shooting.
Robinson told News4Jax on Wednesday that he’s been through a lot, including his own trouble on the streets of Jacksonville, but he now wants to clear the air.
"I went to prison. I did 11 years in prison. I got out in 2009 and I haven’t been in no trouble with the law until a couple months ago -- nothing serious -- and we aren’t getting the same treatment as a victim," Robinson said. "I’m not saying the police aren’t working or doing their job. I don’t want to say that."
What Robinson is saying is that with there being 22 murders in the first two months of 2019, he wants people to know he’s not retaliating for the murder of his son, Addison, and the critical shooting of his other son, Abdul Robinson Jr.
"I want justice for my son. I'm not sending anyone out there. I'm supposed to have 'hits,'" Robinson said.
Robinson said people need to put the guns down and let police do their jobs.
“I’m no angel, but I want justice for my son,” Robinson said.
He said he doesn’t think elected officials asking that the National Guard be called in to patrol Jacksonville's streets will work to reduce the violence in the city. He said it’s going to take people from the streets to reach back and help the younger generation to turn their lives around.
"I think just as well as them talking about bringing the National Guard in and all that, it’s going to be a challenge to the younger guys or whoever's out here in the streets doing what they do," Robinson said.
He is willing to do so, he’s just not sure exactly where he can help.