Police converge on downtown Jacksonville Beach on March 17 after multiple shootings left one person dead and three others injured. | News4Jax
Published on April 2, 2024 at 3:37 pm
Jacksonville Beach leaders have decided that canceling big events would do more harm than good to prevent violence like the three shootings that rocked the city on St. Patrick’s Day.
The City Council on Monday unanimously rejected an ordinance that would have put a temporary moratorium on issuing permits for special events and festivals for 120 days. The ordinance grew out of discussions the City Council had March 18 to find ways to prevent violence from happening again.
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Mayor Christine Hoffman said the ordinance would have affected the community negatively.
“We have hundreds of events in this community that are relatively problem-free, benefit to our citizens, to our area, nonprofit events, pop-up events, Deck the Chairs, things that we could all agree are low impact on our resources, but positive impact on the community,” Hoffman said. “I think that this is a pretty dramatic reaction.”
One person was killed and three others injured March 17 in a string of three unrelated shootings in the heart of the city.
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The first shooting took place near the Jax Beach Pier just before 8 p.m. after police broke up a large group of people surrounding two people who were fighting on the beach. The second incident occurred when a man in a ski mask ran past a bar on 3rd Avenue around 8:15 p.m. and fired a gun. The final shooting — the slaying of James Jones III — happened in the Sneakers Sports Grille parking lot just after 8:30 p.m.
Hoffman said more needs to be done to address what she described as a gray area with larger gatherings — crowds that are larger than friends and family getting together on the beach and smaller than a special event.
“We don’t have any way to restrict the amount of people in a group on the beach, but they are clearly marketing events. Somebody is probably making money on the events. I think that helps all of your areas if we can find a way to really hone in on that gray area type of event,” Hoffman said.
One of the possible solutions discussed March 18 was beefing up the police presence. Police Chief Gene Paul Smith said Monday that showing an increased police force is fine, but that his department will need help in doing that.
“I’m seven officers short,” Smith said. “I have seven officers hurt or on modified duty. I have three in training. I have one leaving in a month. I am 20 officers down as of today out of 67.”
Smith also said his department received 18 calls between noon and 8 p.m. St. Patrick’s Day, which he said was not many. The department also had officers watching the large group of people on the beach that was eventually broken up, Smith said.
No arrests have been announced in connection with the three shootings.
The FBI Jacksonville is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the conviction of the people responsible for the shootings. The FBI is asking people with videos and or photos from specific locations and times to submit them at fbi.gov/jaxbeach-shootings or by calling the tips in at 1-800-CALL-FBI.
Specifically, law enforcement is seeking information from the area of Sneakers Sports Grille between 8 and 9 p.m., The Ritz between 8 and 8:30 p.m., and the Best Western Oceanfront between 7:30 and 8:15 p.m., all on March 17.
City leaders are expected to discuss more possible solutions during a council briefing meeting scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Monday.
