“Hurts my heart”: Pastor works to stop violence after three-year-old shot in Grand Park

Jacksonville, Fla. — Assembly of Faith and Love Church started in a Grand Park neighborhood just more than a year ago. Wednesday night, the church sat across from a crime scene. A three-year-old girl was shot in the leg and taken to the hospital, but is expected to live.

On Thursday, Pastor James Huggins went to visit the home at 1801 McMillan St. No one was home at the time, but he told Action News Jax he’s taking a stand against the gun violence.

“That really hurts my heart to see a child; not just a child, but anybody get shot. It really hits home when you see a child though. So it’s time to go to work,” he said.

Pastor Huggins said a lot of the violence stems from guns on the streets, and many of them reach the hands of youth. He’s now working to reach out to neighbors to clean the area up and control the crime.

Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office said the three-year-old was taken to the hospital, but is expected to live. It’s unclear whether it was an accidental shooting or who shot the firearm. JSO said there are no suspects on the loose or persons of interest, and no charges have been filed.

Lt. Nicholas Damone said Department of Children & Family is investigating. DCF told Action News Jax it cannot release anymore information because of confidentiality laws.

When asked if the children are still in custody of the family, JSO said in a statement, “This continues to be an active investigation and no additional information is available at this time.”

Neighbors told Action News Jax that the house has had several calls to service in the past and several children live there.

We have requested the number of calls to service at the home over the past year, and will update this story once we learn more.

According to JSO’s crime map, there’s been at least five assaults in the neighborhood in the past month, three of those involved a gun.

Cox Media Group