JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A violent weekend leaves neighbors on edge across Jacksonville. There were seven shootings in several different areas spanning Mandarin to the Northside and Westside.
In the Mandarin area, one local man tried to stop a suspected car burglar and ended up getting shot and sent to the hospital.
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“I’m lucky dude, I could be dead,” Charles Wolfla said.
After being released and showing us the paperwork, Wolfla spoke only with Action News Jax.
The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office said the shooting happened just before 4 a.m. at the Woodlake Park apartment complex. At that time, Wolfla said his dog woke him up and needed to go out.
“I saw a guy messing around with a car,” Wolfla said. “He was busting a window out, so I stood back a little bit and said, ‘What the hell are you doing?’ and he came out with a pistol and shot like eight or 10 times at me.”
Other neighbors told Action News Jax off-camera that several cars were broken into throughout the complex and some vehicles were almost stolen.
Wolfla said he got shot in the groin right after the suspect broke into a car and looked through it.
“He started shooting at me like, ‘bam bam bam bam bam bam bam bam,’ and I turned to run and I fell down. Then he walked up on top of me and he shot me in the crotch,” Wolfla said. “I’m in a lot of pain, but I’m all right.”
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Wolfla said he also had a gun on him when this happened because it was so early in the morning. He said he shot back at the suspect one time after getting shot.
When he walked back to his apartment, he and his girlfriend called 911. Wolfla also said his gun and the clothes he was wearing at the time have been taken by police.
JSO is still looking for the suspect.