HOBE SOUND, Fla. —
A 21-year-old man was fatally shot Wednesday night in the Banner Lake neighborhood of Hobe Sound, and authorities are investigating the circumstances surrounding the incident.
Martin County sheriff’s deputies responded to the scene along Southeast Citrus Way, where they found Jarvis Preston with three gunshot wounds to the chest.
“I know you’re going to ask me, was it a stand your ground? Is it a homicide? What is it, Sheriff? And the answer is, I don’t know right now,” Sheriff John Budensiek said.
Budensiek explained that Preston and the shooter were friends. Witnesses reported that Preston had been drinking heavily throughout the day and began threatening the shooter and others while armed with a gun.
“He’s talking, I’m going to shoot you, I’m going to hurt you. The shooter walks towards him, now they’re at the edge of the road, at which point the deceased starts to pull out a handgun. The shooter pulls out his AR-15, actually it’s a rifle, shoots him three times in the chest, and he drops right there,” Budensiek said.
The sheriff said the shooter called 911 and attempted life-saving efforts before Preston was flown to St. Mary’s Hospital, where he died.
Preston’s grandmother, Harriet Ford Gregg, said she heard the gunshots and later saw her grandson lying on the ground.
“It was Jarvis laying on the ground out there, and the police officer was reviving him,” Gregg said.
She shared her grief over losing Preston, who lived with her, saying his empty bedroom is now too painful to face.
“I just look at the door. I just look at the door. I’m not going in there,” Gregg said.
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