JSO investigates triple shooting at local motel that saw nearly 500 calls for service in one year

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — JSO is investigating a triple shooting at a troubled local motel that left one person in critical condition.

The shooting took place early Saturday morning at the Red Roof Inn on Youngerman Circle.

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Cory Johnson works just up the road from the motel.

When we asked him what the motel was like, he replied ‘Vietnam’.

“You can’t come down the road or go anywhere unless you want to get robbed, mugged, or beat up,” said Johnson.

The triple shooting wasn’t the only time police were called out Saturday.

When we came out to interview locals about the shooting around 5:30 PM, JSO was on the property again on an unrelated call.

Action News Jax has been to the motel many times over the past eleven years.

The most recent was a shooting this past November and the month before that.

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Plus a shooting in 2014 and another in 2011.

“It has been going on for way longer than it should have been going on,” said Jacksonville City Councilmember Randy DeFoor (R-District 14).

The motel is in DeFoor’s district.

Last month she obtained public records request from JSO that revealed there were 489 calls for service to the property in the past year alone.

That’s more than one a day.

“A very large cost to our taxpayers and that doesn’t even account for some of the stuff that JFRD’s been dealing with,” said DeFoor.

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DeFoor has lodged a formal complaint with JSO hoping to get the business put before the city’s newly created Public Nuisance Abatement Board.

The board was created last year and has the ability to shut a business down if it meets the parameters set out in the city ordinance.

“So, it’s the ace in the hole, if you will, to get this property owner to comply to work towards a resolution,” said DeFoor.

Locals like Johnson, feel this part of town would be better off without the Red Roof Inn.

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“I’d really rather not even deal with that motel or stay there at all,” said Johnson.

We reached out to the emergency media contact for the Red Roof Inn’s corporate office for comment on this story, but didn’t hear back.

DeFoor told us JSO’s investigation into the motel is ongoing.

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