The man wanted for shooting a CVS pharmacy employee has himself been shot by police. Jacksonville Police updated the investigation in a news conference Wednesday morning.
Police identified the suspect as 24-year-old Herman Pickens, and he is charged with attempted murder, armed robbery, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
An undercover member of the SWAT team shot Pickens on the westside Tuesday afternoon near the intersection of Jammes and San Juan. His injuries are described as life-threatening and as of Wednesday at 11 a.m. we're told he's still alive.
Police say they placed the suspect under surveillance, obtained a warrant for the suspect and ultimately fired because they feared for their lives.
On Tuesday afternoon investigators say the suspect rammed his gold-colored car into an unmarked police car and then took off running with a black backpack.
Chief Annie Smith says the suspect had his hand inside of the backpack as he was running. Smith says officers fired at him two times sending him to the hospital.
She says police later uncovered a gun as well. Police also say there were individuals inside of the car with him at the time of the incident. Those individuals who have not been named, police say, are being questioned downtown at police headquarters.
Patrons and employees we spoke to at Famous Sandwiches at Subs across the street from the Mr. Dragon restaurant where the shooting happened say they watched their quiet restaurant on the corner turn into a full-fledged crime scene complete with police choppers and SWAT teams after the suspect tried to make a run for it. They were shocked at how things turned from quiet to chaotic in just seconds once the chase was on.
They say some of the neighborhoods back behind this area are pretty rough and those we spoke to in the restaurant say they’re not surprised he was hiding out in the area.
It remains unclear if that same suspect is also connected with the murder of a cleaning worker at Mojo #4 in Avondale early on Monday. That worker was killed in a robbery attempt which occurred before the CVS robbery.
The CVS employee was reported to have been grazed by the bullet. A second worker at MoJo's survived uninjured.
A surveillance photo of the suspect was released by police on Monday and police say the flood of tips they received from the public was a huge help in identifying Pickens. They say once they received a positive ID on him, they immediately began their surveillance of him.