JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A 16-year-old boy was hospitalized on Monday after an hours-long standoff with officers in the parking lot of a movie theater on Philips Highway ended with the teen trying to take his own life, according to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office.
JSO Chief Mike Shell with the Homeland Security Division said the incident began just before 6:30 a.m. Monday when officers got a call from a mom who’d found a note from her son expressing suicidal thoughts.
She said her son had left the home and was armed with a handgun.
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Officers found the teen in the parking lot of the Regal movie theater on Philips Highway. At one point while they were talking to him, the teen pulled a handgun out of his waistband, Shell said.
That’s when one of the officers deployed his Taser and the other fired his service weapon multiple times. Both missed the teen, who ran off.
Officers found him again in another part of the same parking lot, and the SWAT Team and the crisis intervention team were called out around 8 a.m., Shell said.
The crisis team made contact with the teen over the phone and stayed on the phone with him until the incident ended.
“We’re not going to put them in a position where they’re in harm’s way. So we’re not gonna get them within line of sight where someone that has a firearm can harm them,” Shell said. “But in this situation, they’re working, were able to get in contact with the subject on the phone and be in a safe position to add their skill set to this situation. And while they were speaking with him, they were being coached by a member of our Negotiations Unit.”
The SWAT team surrounded the teen around 9:15 a.m with armored cars to protect people in the surrounding businesses.
Shell described the situation, saying the parking lot is about 600 yards long and 150 yards wide with two nearby strip malls that were filled with employees and customers.
“So the goal is obviously to try to prevent any of those citizens from being in harm’s way, but the easiest way to do that is to get a piece of armor between them,” Shell said. “Just given the volume of the number of businesses there, the number people coming and going from that parking lot, the ability to actually control that in real time is challenging.”
Shell said that while the crisis team was speaking with him, JSO was trying to back the teen toward the rear of the theater, where SWAT officers were waiting to subdue him, but when they launched pepper balls at the ground near him to force him backward, the teen shot himself in the head.
He survived and was taken to the hospital in critical condition.
“Obviously, if there are people in distress, we want them to reach out and get help and get resources. And this isn’t the goal that anyone has,” Shell said. “It’s difficult for those involved on the family side. I feel terrible for them. It’s difficult for the officers involved. All the way around, it is a terrible situation.”
JSO said the teen’s name will not be released because of his age, and the names of the officers will not be released for 72 hours because of a recent change in Florida’s Marsy’s Law.
JSO did say the teen had a previous history of mental health issues, including a threat toward Mayport Middle School that DCPS says got him expelled in 2023.
Resources
Here is a list of mental health resources available in Florida.
- UF Health St. Johns Behavioral Health Resource Center - open 24/7 with clinicians on staff and available to assist during a crisis. No appointment is needed.
- EPIC Behavioral Health Rapid Response Team – 24/7 service for individuals 26+, dial 988, and a response will occur within 60 minutes of the request.
- EPIC Access Support Center – Walk-in services for mental health at their North Campus, Northwest Campus, and Flagler Campus. If this service is needed, walk-in during hours or call (904) 495-7001.
- Mobile Response Team – 24/7 service for individuals 5-25 years old. Dial 988 or 911 and a response will occur within 60 minutes of the request.
- Vinson Foundation - A support group for St. Johns, Jacksonville, Fernandina Beach, and Orange Park, for families who lost someone to suicide.
- St. Augustine Youth Services: 904-829-1770
- Call 211 - Local experts are available 24/7 to help. Calls to 211 are confidential and can be anonymous.
- Hope for Healing Florida - Hope for Healing navigates the many ways Floridians can access help for mental health and substance abuse
These resources can be accessed nationwide.
- 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline - Call or text 988 for help. The Lifeline provides 24/7, free, and confidential support for people in distress, prevention, and crisis resources for you or someone you know.
- Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) provides resources for issues with mental health, drugs, or alcohol.
- Veterans Crisis Line - Text 838255 or call 1-800-273-8255 and press 1
- Crisis Text Line - Text “Home” to 741741
- Teen Line - Text “Teen” to 839863
If you or anyone you know needs help, you can call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988.