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Neighbors remain quiet following 7-year-old Jacksonville boy's shooting death

Jacksonville Sheriff's Office are asking for your help in identifying a gray SUV linked to the deadly shooting of seven year-old Ta'Shawn Gallon. However, despite an increase in their CRIMESTOPPERS award, few tips are hitting their inbox. First Coast News has learned there may be multiple reasons why people aren't talking.

Jacksonville Sheriff's Office is asking for help in identifying a gray SUV linked to the deadly shooting of 7-year-old Ta'Shawn Gallon.

However, despite an increase in their CRIMESTOPPERS reward - $10,000 - few tips are hitting their inbox.

First Coast News has learned there may be multiple reasons why people aren't talking.

Gallon will not see his 8th birthday, won’t go to a high school prom or get married. So why aren’t people talking to the media or police about what they heard or observed Sunday night when the child was shot and killed? There were others around when it happened.

Is the community scared? Is it a lack of trust with the police department or are they fearful of retaliation?

First Coast News revisited the 1300 block of Mt. Herman to ask neighbors again what they heard or witnessed that night. Our second attempt for answers were met with a similar response. An all too familiar silence, usually following shootings like this.

Those that live nearby either immediately walked away from our cameras not saying a word to others who would only say they were not talking.

“I can’t, I don’t know nothing, I feel bad for the little boy, you know I don't know anything," one man said.

When asked if he was bothered that not many people are coming forward with information about the shooting he replied, "I don’t know, I ain’t no snitch."

That brings us to another question, is the increased reward of $10,000 dollars, worth the risk of consequences if the wrong person doesn’t like you talking.

One neighbor, we caught up with said, "10,000 dollars, they should."

When asked if she thinks the lack of communication is for fear of retaliation "I have no idea.”

Though the birds might be the only ones making significant noise down Mt. Herman street,

Sheriff Mike Williams told us in the press conference the day after the shooting, even if someone is fearful they themselves could become a target remember they can be anonymous.

“There may be multiple reasons people aren’t being cooperative, that could be one, absolutely, but again, go the anonymous route, that route is real, it works," Sheriff Williams said.

In the first 24 hours since the shooting and the press conference, investigators now have four tips to investigate from anonymous calls into CRIMESTOPPERS. To be eligible for the $10,000 cash reward the tip must be called into First Coast Crime Stoppers at 1-866-845-TIPS first.

“And maybe everybody has their reasons, but again we have multiple pathways to get that information to us. At the end of the day, we’re not talking about somebody firing a gun up in the air, we’re talking about the death of a seven-year-old little boy, so if you can’t get behind that then something is wrong with you.”

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