JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A Jacksonville boy is going to bed for the first time since his mother says a bullet nearly hit him in his sleep.
Action News Jax is working to find out if the bullet came from an officer's or a suspect's gun.
The home where the 6-year-old boy lives is in an area where six shots were fired between an officer with Jacksonville Sheriff's Office and a suspect.
Police say the officer fired five shots after the suspect pulled a gun from a backpack and fired once.
The boy's mother said a bullet flew into her home and barely missed her son's head.
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“I snatched him, made sure he was alive,” she said.
While at his Crime Prevention Walk on Thursday, Jacksonville Sheriff Mike Williams spoke to Action New Jax about the agency's investigation into the shooting and the shots fired at the home.
“We're going to look at every aspect in the case, and that includes where the officer's rounds went," he said. “I think it's important to remember that the officer was returning fire when the suspect opened fire on him. So he's acting in immediate defense of his own life.”
JSO responded to a call about gunshots at a different home on Wednesday. When officers saw a man believed to be a suspect in the shooting, a chase ensued. That's when police say the shootout happened.
“An officer has to be aware of certain things before he fires that weapon,” Action News Jax Crime and Safety Expert Ken Jefferson said. "Where is that bullet going to go when he discharges his firearm? Do you have a clear backdrop, or are you shooting in the air?”
The child's mother thinks the bullet came from the officer's gun, but JSO says ballistics testing is needed to determine where the bullet came from.
Action News Jax Law and Safety Expert Dale Carson says the officer may not face serious consequences if the bullet is his.
"There’s a lot going through that officer’s head before he pulls that gun," Jefferson said. "Shoot or don’t shoot. Officers only have a few seconds if that to make a decision. But their ultimate objective is to go home alive and to protect themselves as well as innocent bystanders or innocent citizens.”
The boy’s mother said she just wants answers.
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