JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A terrifying hostage situation on the Southside was caught on camera. Intense security video shows the moments JSO SWAT and K9 Huk took down 33-year-old Gabriel Campla.
Police said Campla went into a local business with a gun telling everybody to leave and to call the police — after hours of negotiating, he finally surrendered.
“I was scared, shaking,” Khalid Anwar said.
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Campla is now behind bars but it took a standoff to get him there. He’s facing several charges, including attempted murder.
Video given to Action News Jax from multiple angles shows Campla walking into Serenity Spa around 11:28 in the morning.
Around three to four minutes later, you can see people running out. With a gun in his hand, Campla appears to tell a woman in a red dress to come back inside. Police said she managed to calm him down at some point and leave the building safely.
There is no audio in any of the videos that were given to Action News Jax.
Shalimar Groceries is right next door and its owner Khalid Anwar said the entire day was chaotic.
“I was walking outside to deliver mail next door but I saw a man holding a gun in a black truck,” he said.
A hole remains at the window of Serenity Spa where the hostage situation played out, as police said Campla shot at them through it, in addition to shooting twice at the ceiling.
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Snipers were in position, accompanied with an extremely heavy police presence, but once Campla was taken down by K9 Huk, he was thrown to the ground as the K9 grabbed hold of his arm.
Campla was greeted by SWAT and taken away in an ambulance to be treated for minor injuries. Police said everyone else was OK.
“The police came and shut down all the stores and said ‘OK, leave this place as soon as possible,’” Anwar said. “They remove not me only but my other neighbors from left and right stores.”
Staff at Serenity Spa declined comment. Police said the investigation is in its very early stages and aren’t currently sure why Campla went to the business.
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