JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — 12 PM UPDATE: A 16-year-old boy is in life-threatening condition after police say he shot himself after officers and the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office Behavioral Crisis Response Unit tried to de-escalate the situation.
JSO Chief of Homeland Security Division Mike Shell said the only history the agency has with the teen is that in 2023, he was expelled from Mayport Middle School for threatening to “kill everyone and everything.” Shell said the teen was not arrested for that incident.
Here is the timeline of events, as provided by Shell:
6:24 AM: JSO receives call from parent about her son who left the house armed with a handgun and left note saying he was going to commit suicide.
6:28 AM: First officers arrived at the 8000 block of Echo Springs Road, which is near Baymeadows Road and Southside Boulevard. They confirmed that the teen was not there and that the handgun was missing.
7 AM: Officers locate the teen in the 9500 block of Philips Highway in the Regal Cinemas parking lot. Shell said the teen pulled a handgun from his waist area.
One officer deployed a Taser and one officer shot at the teen multiple times. Shell said both missed and then the teen ran north through the parking lot towards strip malls with businesses that were open.
Shell said at this point, the teen was considered to be in an “open barricade. This, Shell said, is when someone is armed and they’re in a position of advantage; you can’t safely approach them, but they’re not actually barricaded inside of a structure.
8 AM: JSO SWAT was called, along with members of the Behavioral Crisis Response Unit, who started speaking with the teen on his phone and they were on the phone with him until the conclusion of the incident, Shell said.
9:15: JSO SWAT brought in armored vehicles in an attempt to contain the teen if he went from threatening suicide to being a threat to anyone in the businesses.
Shell said the goal was to push the teen east toward the rear of the Regal Cinemas parking lot. SWAT members started deploying “pepper ball,” striking the ground around the teen to push him east.
While the pepper ball was being deployed, the teen pulled the gun back out and shot himself in the head, Shell said.
You can watch the full briefing as it aired on the Action News Jax YouTube channel below:
11 AM UPDATE: The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office has announced it will hold a media briefing regarding the “officer-involved” incident.
Action News Jax will continue to provide updates on air and online.
10 AM UPDATE: All lanes on Philips Highway between I-95 and Shad Road have reopened.
ORIGINAL STORY: The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office confirmed a portion of Philips Highway in front of the Regal Avenues movie theater is closed while officers respond to a reported suicidal person.
A witness who is working in the area tells Action News Jax that a man can be seen in the parking lot of the theater, armed with a gun.
Philips Highway from Shad Road to I-95 is closed as JSO and SWAT continue to work the incident.
People are asked to avoid the area.
This is a developing story and will be updated as we receive more information.
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