A Vilano Beach community is now left shaken after a shooting Saturday morning on South Beach Drive, with the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office now investigating.
“I’ve never seen a line of police cars like that anywhere for any kind of situation in a neighborhood, and we’ve lived on the island for 18 years now,” Brian Youman said, who lives right across the street from where the shooting happened.
A neighbor sent Action News Jax a photo they took of what appears to be someone being taken in custody in the wake of the shooting Saturday morning, though the St. John’s County Sheriff’s Office has yet to announce any suspect or arrest.
Police remained on scene for hours with a shattered car window left behind, and crime scene tape blocking off a home on South Beach Drive.
Investigators said Saturday morning the victim in the shooting is now in critical condition, and that it appears to be an isolated incident.
However, neighbors told Action News Jax it’s the kind of incident that isn’t common to their otherwise quiet beachside community.
“I’ve seen multiple actions here in the year that we’ve lived here of some yelling and screaming back and forth between those two [living there] and arguments and stuff, but it’s just nothing we’ve ever put anything to, and it’s odd,” Youman added.
Now, with the investigation still ongoing, neighbors in Vilano Beach say, ultimately, their thoughts and prayers are now with the victim.
“We’re praying for her. Our best wishes for her, but we’ll see what happens,” Youman said. “And I think it’s sad that this has to happen in our neighborhood. There’s always somebody to talk to. If you needed somebody to just talk to or needed to knock on a door and get help, somebody would always let you in and say, yes, we will help you. But apparently, it just got out of hand too fast.”
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