JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A man is recovering after police said an armed intruder wearing a ski mask broke into his apartment on North Pearl Street and attempted to rob him late Monday morning.
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According to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, officers were called to the 1800 block of North Pearl Street around 10:50 a.m. for reports of a shooting. When they arrived, they found a man with a gunshot wound to the leg. He was taken to a nearby hospital and has since returned home.
The victim’s mother, who spoke only on Action News Jax, said she was stunned when she learned her son had been shot.
“Uh, Jesus,” she said, expressing her fear and frustration.
She requested that neither she nor her son be identified or shown on camera. She told Action News Jax reporter Nicholas Brooks that her son is shaken but recovering at home.
Investigators said the shooting happened inside a building that includes both office spaces and residential units. Police say the victim was asleep when a man he did not know entered his room with a rifle and demanded his belongings.
A struggle followed, and the gun went off twice, hitting the victim once. His girlfriend was in the room but was not hurt.
“Oh, I’m very scared. I’m very scared,” the victim’s mother said.
She added that the incident is especially frightening because their family recently moved to the area.
“I feel that he should’ve been more safe because we just moved here.”
Police said the suspect fled the scene and has not yet been located. Detectives are still working to determine whether there was any connection between the victim and the intruder.
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