One person has been killed and two other have been injured after a gunman opened fire in the beachfront Bar District at Jacksonville Beach in Florida.
Around 10 gunshots rang out, sending hundreds of people who had been celebrating St. Patrick’s Day on the warm spring evening rushing out onto the beach in order to escape the terror.
The two injured victims were hospitalized and are now in stable condition, police have confirmed. Their identities, as well as that of the deceased, were not immediately availability.
Revelers ran onto the sands in sheer terror as gunshots could be heard ringing out from the boardwalk.
Police have closed off an eight block area and have completely shut down the beachfront Bar District ‘until further notice’ while the suspects are still at large. Officers say they are still trying to work out if there were in fact multiple shooters.
Mayor Christine Hoffman, during a news conference overnight, said the violence may be the result of ‘several different incidents’ that were ‘potentially unrelated’. She added that the situation remains under active investigation.
People could be seen running onto Jacksonville Beach to escape from the gunshots on Sunday night in the Bar District
One of three people injured could be seen being loaded into the back of ambulance on Sunday at downtown Jacksonville Beach
The shooting happened in the Bar District of Jacksonville Beach on Sunday night
Shell casings can be seen on the ground at a Jacksonville Beach parking lot
Police shut down an eight block area of the beachfront and Bar District area
Jacksonville Beach Mayor Christine Hoffman, left, said the violence may be the result of ‘several different incidents’ that were ‘potentially unrelated’. Sgt Tonya Tator, right, with the Jacksonville Beach Police confirmed the shooting happened out in the open rather than in a bar
The incident happened on the boardwalk close to Jacksonville Beach Pier near 2nd Ave N & 1st St N.
‘We got here and everybody was safe and next thing you know there was things going down,’ said the owner of Salt Bar & Restaurant to News4Jax.
‘People got scared. There was a few people who were worried about getting shot from blind bullets, but the boardwalk is a public beach and sometimes people come out that maybe shouldn’t be here.’
Jacksonville Beach Police Department first revealed they were working an active shooter incident in the downtown area just after 9pm on Sunday night.
The force urged those in the area to ‘shelter in place’ until the all-clear was given just before 11pm. Officers say they are working on getting descriptions of the suspects.
The blue lights of police cars could be seen from the beach area of Jacksonville Beach
Police have now completely shut down the beachfront bar district area while the suspects are still at large
The downtown area had been packed with drinkers on Sunday night for St. Patrick’s Day and Spring Break
Sergeant Tonya Tator with the Jacksonville Beach Police said authorities are still looking for suspects.
‘If anyone knows or sees anything, they are asked to call the Jacksonville Beach Police Department’, Tator told reporters, while confirming the shooting happened ‘out in the open’, rather than inside a bar.
The downtown area was busy with plenty of revelers celebrating St. Patrick’s Day and enjoying Spring Break.
Jacksonville Beach Mayor Christine Hofmann said she was at the scene to show support for officers. Multiple agencies were at the scene from across the region.
Hofmann said business owners acted bravely on what was a particularly busy weekend.
‘We have a lot going on out here. The fact we had a couple of bad actors out here that really made a dangerous situation for everyone is extremely tragic and unfortunate,’ Hoffman said to First Coast News.
People could be seen milling around on the street outside after the first set of gunshots rang out
One of the three people who were shot was hit in a city parking lot
Police could be seen gathering evidence late into the night, in the hours following the shooting
Jacksonville Beach Police Department said they were working an active shooter incident in the downtown area just after 9pm on Sunday night.
Law enforcement agencies have been on heightened alert across the entire state of Florida with the popular Spring Break getaway underway.
Earlier this month, Governor DeSantis said 17 law enforcement agencies had requested extra Florida Highway Patrol troopers to help patrol their communities because of spring breakers.
The Jacksonville Beach Police Department, however, was not one of them.
If you have any information about the shooting, call the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office at 904-630-0500.