UNF employee killed in reported home invasion

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A man who worked at the University of North Florida for more than two decades was shot and killed during a home invasion in Jacksonville.

The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office began investigating a reported deadly home invasion on Wednesday morning.

Police responded just before 3 a.m. to a person shot in the 11400 block of V C Johnson Road, which is north of Dunn Avenue.

Joe Brenton, who worked at UNF in the IT department, was shot and killed.

Photos: UNF employee shot, killed in reported home invasion

The university released a statement about his death:

The UNF community is saddened by the news of  Joe Brenton's passing as he was a valued employee here for 21 years. He was instrumental in building the early network and server infrastructure at UNF and continued to architect the campus network until his untimely death. Our heartfelt prayers and thoughts go out to his family and friends." University of North Florida

The homeowner said it appears that someone was trying to break into the home and shots were fired, police said.

His wife and daughter were home during the shooting and are being interviewed by law enforcement, JSO said.

Jacksonville police said it appears to either be a burglary or home invasion robbery at this time. There is no suspect description.

Action News Jax reporter Kevin Clark is at the scene. Follow him on Twitter @KevinANjax for updates.

Police are continuing to investigate.

Anyone who has any information about the incident is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 866-845-TIPS. You can remain anonymous and receive a possible reward of up to $3,000.

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