Police are investigating after a homeowner shot a man accused of carjacking him in Jacksonville’s Herlong neighborhood.
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Neighbors say it’s usually a quiet neighborhood, but police were there for about five hours investigating after they say a man dumped a stolen car and then tried to steal another from a man who later shot him.
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“It’s very shocking,” said neighbor KP Lancaster.
“It’s been a day and I’m sorry it happened, and I’m sorry it happened here,” neighbor Sheryl Anglin said.
JSO said around noon a K9 officer attempted to conduct a traffic stop on a stolen car outside Suwanee County on Spring Lake Drive.
According to police, the suspect then took off after kicking a woman out of the car.
He allegedly left it in a dead-end spot near the woods on Justin Road West before running to a house on Oxbow Road.
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At that point, JSO said the suspect held the homeowner at gunpoint while attempting to carjack his car from his garage.
Describing what happened to her neighbour, Anglin said: ‘The man told him he had weapons on him and he said to him, ‘Give me your keys or I will kill you.’ And he said, ‘Oh yes, but I have to go into the house and get it.’ So when he did, he grabbed his gun instead.
Police say the suspect – a 30-year-old man – then ran across a pasture in that area, where neighbors chased him.
“I just heard gunshots and people were going in all directions and pretty much looking for him to try to keep this neighborhood safe.” said Lancaster.
Anglin said the suspect ended up in her backyard.
“I mean, he was out to kill, and he said he wanted to kill the police too,” Anglin said.
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She then said her neighbor, Don – the homeowner whom the suspect is accused of attempting to carjack – shot him.
“So when he comes up to him, Don says ‘Stop’ because the guy already told him he was going to kill him and so Don shot him.”
Detective Sgt. Karen Dukes said this was an interesting case of neighbors coming together to protect their own land.
“It’s a little unusual that we have an armed citizen defending himself,” said Sgt. Dukes said.
Sergeant Dukes said the homeowner is cooperating with police as they investigate the shooting.
“We obviously want to make sure that we do a thorough investigation when someone is shot to make sure it’s justified or not and the reasoning behind it to make sure it’s legal,” said Sgt. Dukes said.
About five hours after the first shooting, Sgt. Dukes said they recovered the suspect’s gun in the woods.
JSO said the suspect has non-life-threatening injuries to his leg.
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