JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — In a matter of 24 hours -- there have been two officer-involved shootings in Jacksonville. The most recent one was a deadly shooting that happened this afternoon at the corner of New Berlin Road and North Main Street.
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Neighbors say they ran for cover after hearing several rounds of gunfire.
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“It was like pah-pah-pah-pah-pah,” Franklin De Los Santos, an Oceanway resident said.
De Los Santos said he was coming out of a nearby grocery store off New Berlin Road when he heard over a dozen gun shots.
“We heard the shots so close, that we didn’t want to go and see nothing cause it was bullets flying and we don’t want to get hurt,” De Los Santos said. “Basically everybody was looking for cover cause from here [to] here, it’s really close. Bullets can go this way, so everybody was like ‘Oh-oh’ we have to go.”
At a Circle K in the area, you can see what appears to be a red car with a shattered back window, and a lot of evidence markers on the ground.
ORIGINAL STORY: Man wanted for rape and murder dead after being shot by U.S. Marshal and St. Johns County detective
In an update at the scene, Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters said around 4:30 p.m., a JSO detective, who was working with the US Marshal Task Force, had been keeping tabs on a man wanted out of South Carolina on several warrants, including one for sexual battery.
“He is wanted for rape out of South Carolina, and he was going to be wanted for murder here in Jacksonville,” Sheriff Waters said.
Sheriff Waters said the Jacksonville murder was a stabbing that happened last week.
The Sheriff said in this case, the suspect was in a stolen car with another man – the driver, and woman. Once the detective identified the suspect, Sheriff Waters said he approached the vehicle, and the driver tried to run away. But the detective went after him and detained him.
“While he was taking that individual into custody, a US Marshal and one of our St. Johns County deputies involved in that task force, fired shots, ended up killing that individual here on scene,” Sheriff Waters said.
Waters said that individual was the wanted man they were after.
READ: JSO: Road rage leads to chase, officer-involved shooting
And, Sheriff Waters emphasized, saying, “Our officer did not shoot; he did not fire his firearm – SJSO deputy did, and the US Marshal did.”
After the briefing, a JSO spokesperson said the suspect was armed, and an officer received minor injuries.
Since the shooting involved a US Marshal, Sheriff Waters said the Florida Department of Law Enforcement will be leading the investigation. So, he could not give any additional details on what led up to the shooting at this time.
Action News Jax reached out to FDLE, and they said they cannot comment at this time since it is an active investigation.
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