Dad describes his attempt to save man killed in Mandarin shooting

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A Jacksonville dad opened up to Action News Jax about the moments he tried to save the man killed by a shooting in Mandarin.

Austin didn’t disclose his last name to protect the safety of his family. He said he heard four or five gunshots while putting his 7-month-old daughter to sleep Wednesday night.

The family of three said they live at Sugar Mill condominiums on Crown Point Road in Mandarin.

“I go out there and check what’s going on. All I see is two dudes ‘Oh my God they killed him, oh my God they killed him’,” he said.

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According to Austin, he found the man they were screaming about behind a white Ford Explorer SUV.

An Action News Jax crew saw investigators towing the car from the complex Thursday morning.

Austin said, “I see him laying there unconscious. I take the shirt off my back, literally the shirt that I was wearing and I try to do chest compressions and hold the wound to stop the bleeding.”

He explained that he was on the phone with 911, but couldn’t save the man.

“It’s something I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy, to see someone there dead. There’s nothing really you can do other than be there for them,” he said.

Crown Point Elementary, the school Austin and his wife attended, is right across the road from this deadly shooting scene.

According to Austin it isn’t the type of activity they’re used to in the area.

He said he’s be moving with his wife and little girl.

JSO Homicide and the Crime Scene Unit are investigating.

Anyone with information is asked to call police at 904-630-0500 or email jsocrimetips@jaxsheriff.org.

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