Four people are dead and at least nine others wounded Sunday afternoon in a mass shooting at the Jacksonville Landing.
Jacksonville Sheriff Mike Williams said at 4:30 p.m. that the gunman, a white man, is dead, but wouldn’t confirm casually counts, so it wasn’t known if the four dead included the shooter.
News4Jax sources say he killed himself.
Williams said SWAT teams had completed a methodical search of Landing and the immediate area and found no additional gunmen.
JSO urged people at the landing to stay calm and not come running out until the search was complete.
“We will get to you. Please don’t come running out,” said JSO via Twitter about 3 p.m.
Police urged everyone to continue to stay away from the area. Bus service was redirected around the Northbank riverfront and some roads are blocked by emergency vehicles.
Randy Wyse, president of the firefighters union, said Engine Company 1 was training in the area and victims began running up to them before they received the emergency call. He said victims ran as far as the CSX building, about a half mile away to get help.
The wounded victims have been taken to Memorial Hospital, where three victims were in stable condition, and UF Health Medical Center, where one person with serious injuries and five more in good condition.
Early reports say the shooting began during a Madden 19 tournament at the Good Luck Have Fun Video game room inside Chicago Pizza. Several gunshots can be heard on the audio of a livestream of the tournament.
“We are aware of a video that’s out on social media. We have that video,” Williams said. “We would encourage people that have any other videos or information, please reach out to us at 855-845-TIPS.”
Others who appeared to be leaving the area
A woman who said her son inside the game said she he was in the room when a man pulled a gun and started shooting.
“It’s scary that you could be having a good time and someone just starts shooting,” she said.
The councilman who represents the district in which the shooting happened said he came to the scene as soon as he heard the terrible news.
Jacksonville cannot run away from this problem. It’s time for Jacksonville to take up the gun violence issue,” said Jacksonville City Councilman Reggie Gaffney. “We have to pray hard. We have to come together to come up with a real solution.”
Gaffney said he’s frustrated and has been talking with the mayor and sheriff about Friday night’s shooting outside Raines High School that left a 19-year-old dead.
“My solution is we really need to talk about God. I’m asking the faith-based community to step up, Gaffney said.
Mayor Lenny Curry and Jacksonville Sheriff Mike Williams are keeping tabs on the situation and will be making remarks later today. We will provide their remarks live.
This statement came from The Jacksonville Landing: “We are deeply saddened at the incident and pray for everyone involved. The Jacksonville Landing is fully cooperating with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office and all ongoing investigations.”
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