JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Wednesday’s officer-involved shooting, in which an armed robbery suspect died in Northwest Jacksonville, marked the 10th incident involving an officer with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office so far this year.
According to the department’s transparency portal, this year’s total has surpassed the number of officer-involved incidents for two out of the last five years. In 2024, there were eight officer-involved shootings. In 2021, there were nine.
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, according to JSO.
Police said a man, 20, entered a store with a mask and demanded money. He then got the money and took off.
“I heard a couple of gunshots. I can’t say I was startled,” Reginald, who lives in the neighborhood, told News4JAX. “Then I heard the sirens and a little while later I heard a helicopter and knew it was serious,” Reginald, who lives in the neighborhood.”
When officers responded to the area, one officer saw someone matching the description of the suspect running from the area. They told him to stop and took him to the ground.
As Officer Luis Mercado III was trying to detain the man, JSO said that’s when the 20-year-old shot the officer in the leg.
Mercado shot back.
The 20-year-old later died.
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.
Mercado’s first officer-involved shooting brings this year’s total to two more than last year.
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The most officer-involved shootings recorded on JSO’s transparency portal happened in 2020, with a total of 16.
News4JAX Crime and Safety Analyst said each officer-involved shooting is looked at separately.
He also said that while it may take a while to investigate, the sheriff’s office will review what happened to see if anything could have been handled differently.
“From the officer’s safety standpoint, as to how the call was handled, did the officers approach it right? Is there anything that could be taken away?” Hackney said. “All those training aspects really get looked at from the sheriff’s office almost before a criminal hearing administrative portion of it.”
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.
The investigation is ongoing and the State Attorney’s Office is involved.
