JSO: Armed mentally ill man shot by officer on Wonderwood Bridge after series of incidents, crashes

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A man known to the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office as having mental health issues is in intensive care after being shot by an officer on the Wonderwood Bridge on Friday afternoon.

JSO Assistant Chief Scott Dingee said police received two 911 calls at 4:41 p.m. about a hit-and-run on Nesting Eagles Way.

A minute later, they received a third call about a mentally ill person posing a threat to a family member on Blue Eagle Way East.

Then at 4:47 p.m., police received a fourth call, this time about a reckless vehicle that had crashed at the top of the bridge. JSO believed these cases to all be connected and believed the driver to be a man they had several prior interactions with. Four officers and two sergeants immediately responded to the crash scene.

Dingee said they found a gray Ford Explorer with 32-year-old Steven Smith still inside. Several civilians tried to get him out of the vehicle, but told officers he was alert, but not responsive.

Their investigation has determined Smith crashed into a mailbox, light post and other items -- and almost a person -- in the neighborhoods, and then hit the wall of the Wonderwood Bridge several times before stopping.

A woman who was traveling behind him and is an EMT stopped ahead of Smith to provide assistance, at which point, Dingee said, Smith rammed into her parked car. Luckily, the woman was not inside, and she still tried to assist Smith after the fact.

When officers got on scene, they had civilians back away while they instructed Smith to get out of the vehicle. After several minutes, he did, but Dingee said Smith was armed with a small handgun and started to approach the officers. A firearm was found at the scene.

Nine-year veteran Sgt. A. Will fired two shots, one hitting Smith in the chest and one in the arm. Dingee said Smith had surgery and is in intensive care, but is expected to recover. No officers or civilians were hurt in any of the incidents.

It’s unclear right now what specifically led Sgt. Will to fire. Police are also still investigating what initially set Smith off. JSO is expected to provide more details about those questions, as well as their previous encounters with Smith and charges he will now be facing, during a Saturday morning news conference.

The Wonderwood Bridge has reopened, after being closed in both directions for about four hours.

Photos: Officer-involved shooting on Wonderwood Bridge

Cox Media Group