JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A triple shooting leaves one man dead and two people in the hospital. Investigators said a shooter wearing all black and a ski mask opened fire near the Palm Square Plaza.
>>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<<
An off-duty officer heard the gunshots and went to the scene with on-duty resources. The Plaza is where business owner Bill Powers was working at the time and says he heard roughly 30 gunshots.
[DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks]
“About 4′o clock sitting here doing a little extra paperwork next thing you know, ‘boom boom boom’ a whole bunch of gunshots goes,” Powers said. “Off not sure what it was, we took cover and next thing you know there’s bullet holes everywhere.”
Action News Jax obtained security footage from the business Nails by Meme, it didn’t show a suspect but showed the response afterward. You can hear what’s believed to be the off-duty officer say she was at the intersection when she heard it.
Original Story: Three shot, one dead in shooting on the Westside, JSO reports
Police said multiple cars and businesses were hit by gunfire, including inside Powers’ business. He said he hid under his desk when it was happening.
“I have a bullet in a refrigerator actually,” he said. ‘I got a metal desk fortunately and I dumped it down behind that and waited for it to stop, I grabbed my weapon and went outside to see what was going on and if anyone was okay and by that time I called 911.”
Evidence markers were scattered throughout the Plaza and police say one of the men shot made it to the smoke shop parking lot on Jammes Road.
Powers said it was nerve-wracking to know this happened in the middle of the day.
Read: ‘Just a tragic loss:’ Jacksonville family grieving loss of their son in minibike crash
“It’s getting a little ridiculous it is this is a place of business there’s an apartment complex right behind us. At that high caliber of a weapon, it’s going through the wall it could hit a kid,” he said.
JSO is asking anyone with information to call the JSO non-emergency number at 630-0500 or call CRIME STOPPERS at 866-845-TIPS. They can also provide information at jsocrimetips@jaxsheriff.org.
[SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter]
Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live.