A witness shared there was a massive group of teenagers at the party on Edgewood Avenue when several gunshots went off, sending them ducking for cover.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A post-prom party ended with gunshots and a person hit on Jacksonville’s Northside.
The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office says one person was shot in the leg and suffered non-life-threatening injuries early Sunday morning at a plaza on Edgewood Avenue.
Employees of Do Bot Auto came out Sunday morning to find shattered windows and bullet holes in at least seven of the cars in their lot.
“I actually came up here to do something right quick in the office, but I guess I stayed a little too long,” said an employee who asked not to be named.
The employee captured video of the parking lot in front of the shop early Sunday morning.
He said he was in one of the cars in the lot when the gunshots started, but was able to run inside.
“I really only recorded so I could let the parents know they need to come get their kids,” the employee said. “I ended up having three of them inside with me.”
He said he eventually had to lock the door for the safety of himself and the others, and to not inadvertently let a shooter inside.
After the shots ended, the employee discovered the carnage on their lot of cars for sale.
“Five windows and a bunch of bullet holes,” the employee said.
The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office says one person was shot in the leg, and the shooter fled, so they’re still looking for a suspect.
“There were cars from here all the way to my house,” said Jada Conyers, who lives nearby. “There were probably a thousand kids. It was a kill zone last night.”
Conyers says her nephew had several friends at the post-prom party near where she lives, and she worries we’ll see more proms end this way before the end of the school year.
“They don’t stay at proms anymore,” Conyers said. “They stay a minute, take a picture, leave. Then they come to this stuff. Then they’re done. They’re getting shot. They’re not ready for that. I’m tired of putting kids on my shirts. I’m tired of going to funerals. I’m fed up.”
The Do Bot Auto employee pointed out that this will be what this group of teens recalls most when remembering their prom.
“Only get one prom, that’s it, so I’m pretty sure they’re going to be thinking about that all their life.”
That employee said he’s hoping insurance will help them out, but it’ll cost thousands to get all these cars fixed up.
He even added he was expecting a buyer to come by for one of the cars, and he had to tell them the car they wanted had a bullet hole right near the taillight.