Teen prepared for "last day on Earth" shoots JSO detective, who's critical but stable

An off-duty detective with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office is in critical, but stable condition following a shooting on the Westside.

The suspect has now been identified as 19-year-old Kevin Rojas.

The incident started as a traffic stop on Collins Road near the train tracks between Blanding and Roosevelt Wednesday morning.  The detective was driving his teen son to school in an unmarked car when he initiated a traffic stop, because a car passed him and was driving erratically. JSO Chief Tom Hackney says the suspect got out of his car and started shooting at the detective immediately.

“You just never know what you’re getting in to- never know who you’re stopping, never know where you’re going to go, and don’t know the fact that you’re going to go home that day,” Hackney says.

The detective- who had put on a ballistic vest when he initiated the stop- was hit in the head, upper body, and hand. Rojas allegedly fired four times, while the detective got nine shots off, but none connected. Amazingly, his son was not physically harmed.

“The shots actually made it in to the interior of the car, so it’s by God’s grace that he’s not hit as well,” Hackney says.

The suspect fled on foot to a nearby business and stole a running Ford F-350 truck, heading toward Blanding on Collins Road. Hackney says the detective was able to radio for help and give police a description.

“That is a very chilling little moment of time that you listen to, that it’s every cop’s worst nightmare to hear. Your guy who rides near you or another policeman get on the radio and talk about how he got fired on or got hit,’ Hackney says.

Officers heard the distress call and were flagged down by the business where the truck was stolen to get a description of the vehicle. They located it soon after and tried to stop it, but Rojas continued in to the Whispering Pine subdivision where he lived, rammed in to a neighbor’s home, and then kicked his way in to his own home, allegedly telling his girlfriend and roommates he had just “shot a cop”.

Two officers spotted Rojas, who was still armed in the home.

“The officer’s giving loud commands for him to drop the gun. The suspect picks up the gun- or lifts up the gun- and aims it at the two officers. Both of the officers fired their issued handgun several times,” Hackney says.

The officers fired a combined eight times, hitting the suspect at least three times. He was initially treated in a trauma center, but has since been transferred to standard care in the hospital.

Rojas has been booked on charges including attempted murder on a law enforcement officer and aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer. Hackney says more charges could be coming.

The exact motive to the suspect’s actions is still not clear, but Hackney says they believe he was suicidal following a domestic dispute with his girlfriend earlier in the morning, and this may have been a suicide-by-cop.

“Threatened himself, told his live-in girlfriend that today was gunna be his last day on earth, pointed the gun at himself, fired two shots in the house,” Hackney says.

We asked whether there was any history of mental health concerns or indication Rojas would turn suicidal. Hackney says there is none documented, but his roommates had been getting concerned over recent behavior.

“Whatever has gone on with the suspect’s mental condition in the last few weeks, it’s been enough to cause that other roommate concern enough that they would go legally purchase a handgun and keep it for their protection against him,” he says.

Our partner Action News Jax spoke with Rojas' roommate, Cole Jackson, who says Rojas has been acting "mental" lately.

"Kevin don't talk to nobody," he says.  "He's been really strung out lately."

Jackson revealed the horrifying fact that Rojas may have intended to harm a cop for a while.

"He always talked like, 'If I got pulled over I'd shoot the cop and then I'm coming back to kill you, and then I'm gonna kill myself."

But Wednesday's shooting was still a surprise.

"Nobody expected this out of Kevin.  Everybody was shocked when they heard this."

Jackson confirms the police report that Rojas fired a gun inside his home during an argument with his girlfriend before he left.

JSO says the detective is out of surgery and still in critical but stable condition.  Hackney says more potential injury was prevented by good Samaritans in the area, who helped get the detective and his vehicle off the train tracks where he had initiated the traffic stop as a train was approaching. He further says more people could have been hurt by Rojas if the detective hadn’t pulled him over.

“Here’s a guy who tells family members today could be his last day on Earth. People with suicidal ideologies could be homicidal,” he says.

The detective has been on the force since 2008, working the past few years as an undercover narcotics detective. Hackney says this is the detective’s first shooting. JSO is not yet releasing his identity because it could compromise the detective’s safety and impact ongoing undercover investigations.

The two officers who fired on the suspect are on administrative leave per protocol. Neither had been involved in a shooting before- one was on the first six years, one seven years.

Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry issued the following statement regarding the shooting:

“Today is a tragic reminder of the risks the brave men and women of the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office take as they serve and protect the people of our city. My thoughts and prayers are with the detective who was shot this morning, his family, and everyone at JSO. My administration remains committed to supporting law enforcement in efforts to enhance public safety and reduce violent crime throughout our city.”

Jacksonville Sheriff Mike Williams says Curry, along with other local and statewide public officials have reached out through the day to provide support for JSO and the detective. He says the Clay County Sheriff’s Office, Florida Highway Patrol, CSX Police, Jacksonville Fire and Rescue, and UF Health all played crucial roles over the course of the day. He further thanked the community for stepping up as well, and says the family has noticed. He says the detective’s son is shaken, and the family continues to ask for prayers.

While today was focused on the aftermath of the shooting itself, Williams says they will still be conducting an investigation. Two questions that have emerged so far are why the detective initiated a traffic stop with his teen son in the car and why he didn’t call in the traffic stop when he initiated it in order to run the plate and advise about his location.