JACKSONVILLE BEACH, Fla. — The Jacksonville Beach Police Department provided new information to Sunday's "active shooter incident" Monday morning in a news conference. Police Chief Gene Paul Smith says three separate, unrelated shootings left one person dead and two others injured on St. Patrick's Day.
Smith told First Coast News that earlier in the day Sunday, there was a group of 250 to 400 teenagers under the pier that were engaged in boxing matches, fights and other incidents. The police chief said when police units broke the crowd of teens up, that's when the shootings happened. He said "roadways were packed."
Smith said that the shootings being labeled as unrelated to each other, may change as investigative efforts continue.
The first shooting happened at 7:50 p.m. near the Best Western hotel, located at 305 1st St. North, according to Smith. Three people were shot in which two were rushed to a local hospital by first responders, while the other person took themself to Mayo Clinic, then was later transported to UF Health, police say. Smith said two people shot at each other and an "innocent bystander" was struck three times by bullets. The two people who shot at each other are in serious condition, police say, as one is stable. The bystander who was visiting from out-of-town, according to Smith, is in serious condition as well.
One person shot in the first shooting, excluding the bystander, is a "certified gang member through the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office," Smith said.
In the second shooting that occurred at 8:13 p.m., Smith said officers saw a male run by a bar with a pistol and fire a shot. A chase ensued, according to Smith, but the suspect got away from officers as no one was hit by the shot fired.
Officers responded to the third shooting which happened behind Sneakers Sports Grille at 8:31 p.m., according to Smith. Police say a 21-year-old Black male died after "some kind of disturbance" occurred. Witnesses told police three Black males presented firearms, as only one person shot their gun.
At 8:34 p.m., Smith said all crime scene investigators, detectives, swat team members and command staff responded to the scenes of the shootings. In addition, Mayor Christine Hoffman and Jacksonville Beach City Manager Mike Staffopoulos responded to the scenes. Bars were on lockdown and the downtown area was evacuated, Smith said. As of Monday morning, all scenes have been cleared.
Smith said multiple shell casings from pistol and rifle-caliber weapons and two firearms were recovered after the shootings.
"We will take anything we can get from social media," Smith said, "[and] are reviewing multiple videotapes."
Multiple law enforcement agencies joined the police department in responding to the shootings Sunday night, according to Smith.