'We will not tire': Jacksonville sheriff, mayor pledge resources to find shooter in boy's death

Jacksonville’s new sheriff, mayor and an assembly of government and nonprofit officials have pledged more resources toward solving the weekend shooting death of a 13-year-old boy.

“Today I stand before you with our community and faith leaders to share that this grief has not broken our community,” Sheriff T.K. Waters said during a news conference outside the Sheriff's Office. “To the contrary, this grief has emboldened us and hardened our resolve. Jacksonville will not, I repeat will not, tolerate violence for one more day.”

The action comes two days after a drive-by shooting killed Prince Holland in a vehicle stopped at New Kings Road and West Moncrief Road. The boy was in the car with four others, including an 11-year-old child and a 21-year-old man believed to be their football coach — both injured by additional gunfire. Two passengers, also children, were uninjured.

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The group was on their way home from football practice at the Legends Center and Gymnasium. The motive of the shooter is still unknown.

Waters said the Sheriff’s Office would dedicate an extra 420 man-hours to focus on the crime, as well as two additional attorneys from the State Attorney’s Office. He urged the public to speak out with any information, including calling First Coast Crime Stoppers to report anonymously.

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Mayor Lenny Curry, who though near the end of his second term originally campaigned on a “tough on crime” platform, also spoke at Monday's briefing and promised to invest in the partnership with the sheriff and State Attorney’s Office. He closed by reassuring the community they would “continue to work to ensure that Jacksonville is a safe place to call home.”

“We will not tire,” Waters said as a message to the people responsible for the fatal shooting. “We won't waver. All our agency's resources are being mobilized to stop you from hurting anyone else in our community. You will be held accountable to the community that we serve.”

To find the people responsible for Holland's death, Waters asked the community to join together.

"In conjunction with these community and faith leaders, I asked all of you to partner with us to end the cycle of violence. The loss of one life is one life too many," Waters said.

A good kid lost, community deserves better

The family has set up a GoFundMe for Prince. His mother, Chantel Brown, told WJXT TV-4 he was an honor roll student and would cut his neighbors' grass.

“He went to church every Sunday," she told the station. "He played sports. He took the other kids to play sports so they wouldn’t be out here doing drugs, smoking and being in gangs."

For AJ Jordan, outreach coordinator for MAD DADS Jacksonville, Holland's death reminded him of Aiden McClendon, a 22-month-old killed sitting in a car with family in 2016.

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Holland inspired the younger kids around him and encouraged them to get involved and do their best, Jordan said. The fact he did nothing wrong and was simply on his way home from football practice, he said, is bringing people together.

"That's a great loss for our community," Jordan, whose agency stands for Men Against Destruction Defending Against Drugs and Social-Disorder, said Tuesday. "We don't know when he could have been, but the way he was going, he could have been great."

Jordan spoke with Holland's mother Monday after the news conference and said while the community has shown up to support the family, what they need most is action. On the ground, they need community members to make calls and report tips, which Jordan stressed could be done anonymously through MAD DADs or First Coast Crime Stoppers.

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Among Jacksonville officials, Jordan said they need people like the mayor and sheriff to be actively present in the community by knocking on doors and showing up to events, like children's football practices, to show support. After the news briefing, he said he invited Curry to walk with MAD DADS and speak directly with people in communities affected by violence.

Mostly, he said the police and officials needed to build trust — or else people would continue being uncomfortable even making the calls necessary to solving Holland's case.

"Our community needs to know our officers. Our officers need to know how to engage our community," Jordan said.

Activists call for new policing tactics

Both Waters and Curry guaranteed extra resources while at the same time, local community activists in attendance argued the old way of solving crimes was not enough to stem violence in the city that has seen a recent increase in killings.

“We think, in short, that they should involve fresh strategies, robust and effective strategies, other than simply attempting to arrest themselves out of the problem,” Ben Frazier, president of the Northside Coalition of Jacksonville, said after the news conference.

According to Times-Union records, the city surpassed the overall 2021 homicide count in late October. As of Tuesday, there have been 153 homicides this year — compared to 123 at this time last year. The boy killed Saturday was the 11th homicide victim this year age 17 or younger.

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The Northside Coalition came to the news conference to advocate for fewer guns on the streets in the hands of young people, as well as more active involvement from parents, nonprofits and religious organizations to encourage and teach youth, Frazier said.

"All we're getting right now is people who are paying lip service to this problem and offering prayers and condolences, which is what they always do when somebody gets killed," Frazier said.

Waters, who was elected as sheriff earlier this month, so far brought “old-school law enforcement to the same problem that the other sheriff had,” Frazier said, when the police instead needed to use newer technologies and ideas to solve the root of the violence issue.

Members of the public with information on the crime can call the Sheriff’s Office at (904) 630-0500. Any anonymous tips made to First Coast Crime Stoppers at (866) 845-8477 (845-TIPS) leading to an arrest could result in a reward up to $9,000. Or email JSOCrimeTips@jaxsheriff.org or rewards@fccrimestoppers.com.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jacksonville officials seek shooter of teen killed after football practice