JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A man hit by gunfire from a passing car Thursday afternoon was hospitalized after he went to a gas station on Atlantic Boulevard at San Pablo Road for help, the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office said.
The shooting was reported about 5 p.m.
According to the police report, the victim, who police have not named, was a passenger in a car on Atlantic Boulevard when several shots were fired into the car from someone driving parallel to the victim. After the victim made his way to the Daily's Place store, he was taken to Memorial Hospital.
A witness who wished to remain anonymous said he was inside the Daily's when he saw a man, possibly in his late teens or early 20s, stumble into the store, suffering from several gunshot wounds.
“I was in there and this guy came running in with his shirt opened and had bullet holes in him, asking if he’d been shot and there was blood pouring out of him," the witness said. “I didn’t expect it in this side of town, but anything can happen anywhere."
He and store employees immediately called 911.
The driver of the car was not injured.
Lauren McGuinness said she was at the stoplight at the intersection when she heard gunshots.
"I was freaked out," she said. "I was on my way to pick up my kids from school."
McGuinness said she then saw a black car pull into the gas station.
“It happened in the road first and then they pulled into the gas station and then the young black individual got out and he was pointing the gun kind of towards traffic. I guess they were waiting for someone," McGuinness said.
Crime scene tape was wrapped around the gas station parking lot for several hours while detectives investigated the shooting.
McGuinness said she feels lucky she didn't get caught in the crossfire.
"No gunshots hit my car, but it’s pretty crazy," she said, adding that she hopes she won't hear gunshots at a red light anytime soon.
According to the JSO crime-mapping tool, in the last month, only 11 crimes -- including assaults, thefts and car break-ins -- were reported within a mile of the gas station.