Florida neighbors shaken after teenager shot by strangers

DUVAL COUNTY, Fla. — Neighbors are reacting after a teenager was shot while walking in his neighborhood Wednesday in Argyle Forest.

Police are looking for two suspects. The teen is expected to be OK, but parents at Lindsey Terrace Apartments said they are concerned for the safety of their own children.

A mother said News from the First Coast She keeps her children at home and doesn't want them to play outside because she feels the neighborhood is unsafe.

Police said the teen who was shot told them he didn't know the people who shot him. They said he was walking in the morning when two people shot him multiple times and a bullet passed through his shoulder.

“I’m trying not to cry,” said Magan Maye, a mother who lives in the apartment complex. “I didn't know he was a teenager. I didn't know he was a teenager. Oh my God.”

Mayes has a teenage son and three other children. Maye said that in the month she had been living there, her car had been broken into. She also said she witnessed police activity a few days ago.

“I don’t let them hang around this neighborhood,” she said. “So most people don’t even know I have four kids because I keep them at home.”

She says teenagers should not be exposed to this kind of violence. “He was a baby,” she said. “And they're already going through things that they shouldn't have to go through – no one, even if you're an adult, should go through the experience of getting shot. But it's just scary to know that there's to these young babies here.”

The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office crime map shows several incidents of vehicle break-ins earlier this month. The map also shows nearby drug cases on Youngerman Circle earlier this month.

“I pray that he makes a speedy recovery and I pray that his mother has the strength to get through what she is going through right now,” Maye said. “Because it's a lot and she's going to need all the support and love she can get now. And as a mother, I hope she can understand clearly what happened to his son because this is just ridiculous and I hope someone can speak up. [about] what happened to this young man because it's just sad.

First Layer News I called and emailed the apartment complex, but was told over the phone that they were not interested in commenting or answering questions.

Police are asking for your help in finding the people who shot the teen. Call 904-630-0500, email [email protected] or contact First Coast Crime Stoppers at 866-845-TIPS.