JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The girlfriend of a man who was shot while trying to thwart a robbery at a Jacksonville internet cafe is praying for a quick arrest.
Lisa Fighter said her boyfriend, Douglas Cox, a U.S. Marine, did what he could to save a life, but lost his own life in the process. She said Cox was killed while trying to stop an armed robber Wednesday evening at the Dream Arcade on Edgewood Avenue.
"He's gone," Fighter said. "He isn't going to make anybody laugh or smile or giggle anymore."
Fighter relived the moment she learned what happened.
"We (were) going to McDonald's and we came across and saw the cops and our friends' SUV that they were in," Fighter said. "He just looked at me and I could tell. I hit my knees and he said he was gone. There's nothing more that could be done."
Cox, 47, was a regular at the Dream Arcade. Barry Jackson was there on the night of the shooting and called his friend's actions heroic.
"They were going to go in there and kill that woman, and he jumped in," Jackson said. "Got the bullet before she did."
According to the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office, only one employee was inside the internet cafe at the time and no one else was injured.
"He died doing what he believed in," Fighter said.
The deadly shooting is one recent example in a string of violence at Jacksonville internet cafes. Early Friday morning, the Wilson Arcade on Wilson Boulevard was robbed by two masked gunmen.
As of Thursday night, no arrests were announced. Anyone with information is asked to call the Sheriff's Office at 904-630-0500 or email JSOCrimeTips@jaxsheriff.org. To remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers at 1-866-845-TIPS (8477).