Fleeing armed robbery suspect killed after shooting officer in Northwest Jacksonville: sheriff

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – An armed robbery suspect who shot an officer was killed Wednesday morning following a foot chase near Soutel Drive and Norfolk Boulevard in the Sherwood Forest area of Northwest Jacksonville, the Sheriff’s Office said.

JSO said an armed robbery was reported at a local business around 8 a.m. Police said a man, 20, entered a store with a mask and demanded money. He then got the money and took off.

When officers responded to the area, one officer saw someone matching the description of the suspect running from the area.

The officer then jumped out of his cruiser and ran after the suspect, JSO said, while telling him to stop.

When the officer finally caught up to the suspect, he took the suspect to the ground, JSO said.

As the suspect was being detained, JSO said the man fired two shots and hit the officer once in the leg. The officer, identified as four-year veteran Luis Mercado, returned fire and hit the suspect. The suspect later died, JSO said, and the gun used was recovered.

The name of the suspect was not released because his family has not been notified, but JSO said he has a history of arrests and just got out of jail last May.

The officer, who provided medical care to himself and put a tourniquet on his leg, was taken to the hospital and is in stable condition, JSO said.

When asked how many shots Mercado fired at the suspect, Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters said, “he fired enough to get the job done.”

“So we don’t have to worry about that guy anymore. And it may sound cold, it may sound crass, but if a person will shoot at a policeman for doing his job after he just committed armed robbery, he’ll shoot at anyone,” Waters said.

Mercado was released from the hospital Wednesday afternoon and greeted by Waters and several cheering officers.

“I’m so glad he’s able to go home to his family,” Sheriff Waters said outside the hospital. “That’s the biggest thing for me, and it’s so good to see his fellow officers come out to watch him as he leaves the hospital.”