By PEG KENYON
Leader staff writer
A man, presumed to be in his twenties, died after being shot in the abdomen mid-day Tuesday. Jacksonville police have launched a search for a suspect, who was last seen fleeing in a gray Chevrolet Avalanche from a parking lot at the Swiss Village apartment complex in Jacksonville where the shooting occurred.
Late Tuesday, Jacksonville Police Capt. Charley Jenkins said he was hopeful the suspect would be apprehended quickly. Jenkins, public information officer for the Jacksonville Police Department, said the victim was shot once in the abdomen, but he couldn’t give the name of the victim because the next of kin had not yet been notified. Jacksonville paramedics arrived on the scene just before noon and just after the police arrived and made sure the area was clear.
Paramedics stabilized the victim and called for a Med-Flight. The paramedics then moved the victim to McArthur Church of Christ parking lot so the medical helicopter could land. The victim went into cardiac arrest before the helicopter arrived.
“He couldn’t be transported while we were giving him CPR and working on him,” said Fire Battalion Chief Eddie Hill. Crews from Med-Flight joined in efforts to save the victim, but he was pronounced dead on the scene at 12:30 p.m. The body was then turned over to the coroner.
Details of the shooting were sketchy at press time, but both the victim and the suspect were described as black men who appeared to be in their 20s. No motive is known at this time, nor is the relationship between the victim and the suspect. The victim reportedly was not a resident of the complex.
The apartment complex where the shooting took place is located in the 1000 block of Quince Hill Road. The incident began around 11:45 p.m. Tuesday, Jenkins estimated. “There was some type of scuffle between the victim and suspect before the shooting,” Jenkins said. Jenkins believes only the suspect was armed and fired shots.