Jacksonville police reported an officer-involved shooting on the city’s Southside on Saturday evening.
In an alert sent to news media and shared on social media at 7:25 p.m. on July 19, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office said that all lanes of Beach Boulevard at I-295 were closed following an officer-involved shooting and asked that drivers avoid the area.
No other details were immediately available. A briefing, however, is expected later Saturday evening.
The shooting is the second this week and third this month that involved a police officer with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office.
On July 15, Jacksonville police shot and killed a man they said was attacking a pregnant woman who was trying to shield her child from the suspect in an incident in the 12500 block of Brahma Bull Circle near New Berlin Road. After using Tasers several times on the suspect, police fatally shot the man.
On July 9, Officer Luis Mercado, a four-year veteran of JSO, was shot in the leg during a gunfight with a robbery suspect on Soutel Drive near Norfolk Boulevard. The suspect, 20, was critically wounded in the confrontation and died at a local hospital.
Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office police cruisers block Beach Boulevard on Saturday, July 19, 2025, following an officer-involved shooting.
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It marks the Sheriff’s Office’s 12th police shooting this year. Six have been fatal. Last year had a total of eight, with three being fatal, according to Florida Times-Union records.
This story will be updated as more details become available.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jacksonville police shooting closes Beach Boulevard