\u2018I felt so cold, so black, so dark\u2019: Putnam County hit-and-run victim recounts crash as he begins long road to recovery<\/a><\/p>\nAccording to JSO\u2019s initial investigation, officers responded to the 1700 block of St. Johns Bluff Road South around 9 p.m. on Feb. 3, where they found Connor suffering from a gunshot wound to the abdomen.<\/p>\n
Connor tells News4JAX that as he was driving to help a friend move, another driver hit his car and attempted to flee. He says he followed the vehicle, hoping to get insurance information.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy thought process was insurance first,\u201d the 20-year-old explained. \u201cI need to make sure he can\u2019t just run while I am left with the damages.\u201d<\/p>\n
At a red light, Connor says he pulled up beside the other driver\u2019s vehicle. <\/p>\n
\u201cI can see him kind of shuttering his body like he\u2019s doing something,\u201d Connor recalled. \u201cAt first I thought it was just he\u2019s taking off his seatbelt… I see his right arm kind of move across his chest and that\u2019s when he lets off the shots.\u201d<\/p>\n
In the moments that followed, Connor said he found himself alone on a busy road, with other drivers passing.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a scary experience. Everyone was driving by like it didn\u2019t even happen. I was by myself,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Bleeding and uncertain of his fate, Connor made what he feared might be his final phone call. His voice breaks as he remembers reaching out to his grandmother:<\/p>\n
\u201cFirst thing was I wanted to get my affairs in order, if let\u2019s say I did die. I wanted everyone to know how much I loved them and cared about them.\u201d<\/p>\n
X-rays shown to News4JAX show the bullet remains lodged in Connor\u2019s abdomen. <\/p>\n
The physical recovery has been challenging, but he said the emotional toll weighs just as heavily. Activities he once enjoyed \u2013 spending time with friends and taking photographs \u2013 now feel almost impossible.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis makes it so much more difficult because I can\u2019t even see the light in the darkness,\u201d he said. \u201cIt feels like everything is just going to shambles.\u201d<\/p>\n
Throughout his stay at the hospital and return home, Connor said the support of friends has become a crucial part of his journey:<\/p>\n
\u201cThe thing I\u2019m glad about is that so many of my true friends came out to visit me and see me and help me. I\u2019m so thankful because it could have gone so many different ways.\u201d<\/p>\n
As he works toward recovery, Connor\u2019s thoughts have turned to his community and what might prevent similar incidents in the future. <\/p>\n
\u201cPeople need to watch their anger on the road. People really need to just sit back for a second and listen to their emotions.\u201d<\/p>\n
Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to contact JSO at (904) 630-0500 or JSOCrimeTips@jaxsheriff.org. To remain anonymous, witnesses can call Crime Stoppers at 1-866-845-TIPS.<\/p>\n
Copyright 2026 by WJXT News4JAX – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"JACKSONVILLE, Fla. \u2013 Four bullet holes that remain on the side of a gold Toyota Highlander tell the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":152542,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[116,118,117,1872,44705],"class_list":{"0":"post-152541","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-jacksonville","8":"tag-jacksonville","9":"tag-jacksonville-headlines","10":"tag-jacksonville-news","11":"tag-jso","12":"tag-st-johns-bluff"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/152541","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=152541"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/152541\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/152542"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=152541"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=152541"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=152541"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}