‘Let’s do better Jacksonville,’ three children shot in less than a week, two dead

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office is investigating three shootings involving children, two incidents claimed the lives of two teenagers.

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Action News Jax told you on Thursday morning when a four-year-old girl was shot during a drive-by shooting on the Northside.

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“My niece was shot multiple times. My sister was also shot. They were just sitting in the car and somebody just came by and did a drive by shooting,” Bernadette Field said. “The gun violence in this city is out of control.”

Just as 2023 came to a close, a Mandarin neighborhood was riddled with gunfire. Derek Pitts, 16, lost his life after he was shot outside a party near Old St. Augustine Road, according to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office. Just three days later, Micah Thomas, 14, was killed by gunfire in Northwest Jacksonville.

Related Story: Teenage boy dies after getting shot at large party

According to Action News Jax records, based on information given to our crews by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office during news briefings, there were 353 shootings in 2023, with 38 victims under the age of 18.

We mapped out the shooting involving children from last year and found the majority were on the Northside and the downtown area. However, we’re still seeing shooting bleed into other neighborhoods.

“Last September, we had a child killed over off AC Skinner for a dog deal gone bad,” AJ Jordan recalled. “We had another child killed off the Westside as somebody busted into an apartment and shot up and killed that child. So, it’s happening everywhere.”

Related Story: Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office said 14-year-old boy shot and killed in Sherwood Forest area

Jordan is the Outreach Coordinator for ‘MAD DADS’ a non-profit that goes into neighborhoods encouraging people to speak up if they’ve witnessed violence.

“Let’s do better Jacksonville,” Jordan said. “It’s 2024, and we not off to a good start.”

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Anyone with information is asked to call JSO at 904-630-0500, email jsocrimetips@jaxsheriff.org or call Crime Stoppers at 866-845-TIPS.

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