JACKSONVILLE, Fla — A violent week in the River City has community leaders calling on neighbors to speak up.
This comes after a pregnant woman was shot just after midnight Friday morning, according to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office. She was leaving a Spring Glen music studio when she was shot twice in the stomach by two masked men. Police said she is expected to be okay, but it’s unclear how her unborn child is doing.
“Every day. Every day on the news, another person gets shot, somebody gets killed. For what? For what? You take away a life that never even got to experience much life,” a neighbor named Michael said. He didn’t want to give out his last name for safety concerns. “The violence has got to stop. This is ridiculous.”
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The sheriff’s office is searching for a gold Ford Fusion, potentially connected to the shooting.
Action News Jax told you on Wednesday when a six-year-old, 12-year-old, and 29-year-old, were shot at an apartment complex in Mixon Town. The six-year-old boy died from his injuries. The 12-year-old girl and 29-year-old man are expected to be ok.
Last weekend, three-year-old Kae’lynn Marie Matthews was shot and killed at a Southside apartment complex in a quadruple shooting.
“It’s sad for our city. It’s sad because we had two children shot,” AJ Jordan said. “Nobody spoke up yet.”
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Jordan is an outreach coordinator for MAD DADS, a group that works with the community and police to assist in solving crimes and curbing violence. He said typically they receive more information regarding crimes from community members.
“I have noticed that it’s been radio silence,” Jordan said. “These are people. These are children. It could be your child. It could be your sister. It could be your brother, your aunt or your mother, and we are not speaking up.”
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MAD DADS was created to be the bridge between law enforcement and the community. Jordan is encouraging more people to speak up if they know anything about recent crimes.
Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call JSO at 904-630-0500, email jsocrimetips@jaxsheriff.org, or call Crime Stoppers at 866-845-TIPS. Action News Jax will continue to follow the story and update you as events unfold.
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