There’s a new front door at the Cyber Spot Game Room as of Thursday.
The previous one was left with a bullet hole in the center after witnesses say a security guard fired off about three shots around midnight.
They say he was shooting at a robbery suspect who had just sprayed him with pepper spray.
Dino Mott tells us he was one of dozens of people inside the Cyber Spot game room around midnight when someone came in to rob it.
He tells us the robber pushed his girlfriend onto the security guard, resulting in a struggle.
Mott says the man then used tear gas on the guard.
“And when I helped him up he said he couldn’t see,” said witness Dino Mott. “He had Mace on him.”
#NOW: A man was shot at the Cyber Spot game room on the Westside around midnight after police say he pepper sprayed a security guard and tried robbing the business.
— Ryan Nelson (@RyanANJax) December 6, 2018
What a witness told us he did in the moments after the suspect used mace. #LIVE at Noon on @ActionNewsJax. pic.twitter.com/0n5v572MUJ
Mott told us he helped steer the armed security guard in the suspect's direction.
“The guy was trying to run out the door and that’s when he shot him,” said Mott. “… hit him three times.”
Police told us the suspect was shot in the stomach and taken to the hospital in serious condition, where he underwent surgery.
Mott said the suspect is a regular at the establishment, and called out to the security guard by name.
“… He yelled, ‘Don’t shoot, Duncan! Don’t shoot,'” said Mott.
The manager on duty inside the Cyber Spot game room Thursday says they’ve turned over surveillance video of the incident to JSO, but he wouldn’t talk to us about it.
On Thursday night, Mott’s discouraged anyone from trying a similar stunt.
“Don’t try it, it’s not worth it,” said Mott. “All there is, is jail and a hospital. And the morgue.”
He also told us he’s considering safety more now when entering adult arcades.
Action News Jax reported in March when a security guard shot and killed two robbery suspects at an internet café on Beach Boulevard.
In September, we told you police had received more than 28,000 calls to addresses tied to nearly 100 internet cafes in the last five years. Crime and safety expert Ken Jefferson says adult arcades may attract criminal elements.
“They can be susceptible to crimes,” said Jefferson. “Because it’s a place where people go in and try to win money.”
In November, the City Council imposed a six-month temporary moratorium on new certificates and approvals for adult arcades.
Councilman Terrence Freeman told Action News Jax he wants to keep investigating public safety and adult arcades.
“There are numerous cafes like this that are popping up and it’s been brought to my understanding that not all of them are following the proper protocol,” said Freeman.
Given the facts at hand, Jefferson says, it appears this shooting was justified.
