JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Heartbreak and disbelief spread through a quiet Mandarin neighborhood Monday evening after a man was found shot to death inside a garage on the 11000 block of Rustic Green Court.
Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office investigators told News4JAX they found the middle-aged man around 5 p.m. Officers have not identified the victim publicly and said no suspect has been named, though two people are being questioned as part of the ongoing investigation.
Tuesday morning, neighbors and family members spoke with News4JAX’s reporter Briana Brownlee and photojournalist Jesse Hanson and said the shooting had shaken their normally peaceful community.
“I didn’t know the fellow who got shot, but it’s a sad thing,” said Ernie Moreland, who’s lived in the neighborhood for 20 years. “It’s not the kind of thing you hear about here.”
Moreland described the area as friendly and close-knit — a place where people know each other and look out for one another.
“I would say this is a middle-income neighborhood, and everybody is nice and friendly and neighborly as far as I know,” he said. “I never knew of anything that would lead to something as violent as this. But I hope everyone is fine and can get over this.”
For the victim’s family, the grief is still raw. His brother-in-law, Zachary Schwnkey, described him as a man devoted to his family and community.
“He was a good man, but even a better father,” Schwnkey said. “He helped me recognize, just with my background of having no father, barely a mother at the time before she passed, how important a parental figure is, and he showed me how I can be a cornerstone. He cared about his community and the kids better than I knew. He was just so caring.”
Schwnkey said he learned of the shooting from his nephew and rushed to find out what had happened.
“I was at home, I heard the news from my nephew who lives with me, and we just came here as soon as possible and just waited for everything to be done,” he said.
He added that the victim deeply loved his family and was committed to being a strong presence in their lives.
“They loved each other very deeply, had a kid together, and he loved her to the world and end,” Schwnkey said. “There’s not much more that I can say than that.”
Detectives are still investigating and have not shared what might have led up to the shooting. Police are asking anyone with information to contact the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office or Crime Stoppers at 1-866-845-TIPS.