Updated 12:05 p.m. Saturday:
Two Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office police officers are expected to recover after they were shot while responding to a call Friday night. What started as a domestic incident also left a man dead after the shootout with police.
Police responded to a 911 call just before 11 p.m. about a 25-year-old man who was threatening to harm himself and three women inside a home at 5176 Seaboard Ave, near Timuquana Road.
Jacksonville Sheriff Mike Williams said when police arrived, they found Derrick Brabham and a woman having what appeared to be an argument in the home’s front yard.
“So basically what we have is really a violent, alcohol-fueled domestic situation that obviously resulted in two of our officers’ being shot and the suspect being shot and killed,” Williams said.
Williams said as police approached the front door, they were met with gunfire from a semi-automatic rifle — something their body armor can’t block.
“There’s not a lot that’s designed that you could wear on a daily basis that does stop that, and these officers know that,” he said. “I’m glad they survived.”
Williams said Officer Michael Fox, an 11-year JSO veteran, was in surgery and stable Saturday morning after being shot in the hands. Five-year veteran Officer Kevin Jarrell was also stable and “in good spirits” after being hit by rifle fire in the upper abdomen under his bullet-proof vest.
After the shootout, Williams said, additional officers were able to rescue the two shot officers, apprehend the suspect, and attend to the four other people in the home: the suspect’s 19-month-old child, his girlfriend, her mother and a family friend.
“I’ll tell you here today: No doubt in my mind that they saved those women’s lives,” Williams said.
Brabham died from his injuries a hospital. He does not have a criminal history, the sheriff said. JSO continues to investigate the incident.
Original story below:
11: 25 a.m. Saturday: The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office says two of its officers were shot while responding to a call late Friday night in the 5100 block of Seaboard Avenue near Timuquana Road on the city’s Westside.
Just before 11 p.m., officers were dispatched to an attempted suicide call at a home on Seaboard Avenue.
JSO Director Mike Bruno said another person inside the home was updating police about a man's threatening behavior and alerted them that the unnamed suspect had armed himself with “high powered” rifle. When police arrived, they heard gunfire in the house, and the suspect began shooting through the front door as four or five officers approached.
A shootout just outside the house ended with the suspect’s being shot, one officer’s being shot in both hands, and another officer’s being shot in the stomach, Bruno said.
Two police officers shot: If you are inclined to do so, say a prayer for our two #JSO officers that have been shot.
— Jax Sheriff's Office (@JSOPIO) August 19, 2017
As of about 12:45 a.m., one officer remained in critical condition while the other was stable, according to JSO tweets. The suspect died at a hospital, police said.
Three people inside the home, who had retreated to a back bedroom, were not injured in the shootout.
“We thought we had an active shooter type incident,” Bruno said. “Any delay there certainly puts them in greater danger.”
He said the house is set back from the roadway, and officers could not see direction of the gunfire as they came up to the front door.
“As they were approaching the house, they knew this was a rifle that they were facing,” he said. “They knew as they were approaching that house the seriousness of this, and (they) didn’t flinch.”
The names of the officers and the suspect were not released.
JSO's investigation into the incident continues.
The shooting in Jacksonville was the third of three police shootings within a couple of hours. Two officers were also shot Friday night in Kissimmee, Florida, and two state troopers were also shot in Fairchance, Pennsylvania.
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