Around 6 p.m., on Saturday, July 19, 2025, officers responded to a traffic crash with injures on Beach Boulevard. Witnesses say a woman was driving east on Beach Boulevard, making the left turn to get onto I-295 North, and she had the green arrow.
As she made the turn, witnesses say another car, driven by the suspect, a 69-year-old white male, drove through the red light and hit the woman’s car. Those near the scene of the crash reported the suspect began making statements he wanted to shoot himself and take his own life.
Patrol officers and paramedics responded to the scene, and officers began speaking with the suspect as he continued to make concerning statements with his gun in his hand. One of the officers leading the conversation with the man is a trained negotiator. The officers spoke to the suspect for about 20 minutes, but the suspect was not responding often. After about 20 minutes of negotiations, another man began passing the area where the suspect and officers were. The suspect turned to the man, still with the gun in his hand, and that is when the officers fired shots.
The suspect was transported to a local hospital where he succumbed to his injuries. The suspect's identity was not released during the initial briefing as investigators are working to make next of kin notification.
The suspect's license was revoked last year, and he had five DUI charges on his record.
The woman involved in the crash had two kids in the car. All three had minor injuries and received medical treatment at the scene.
This is the 12th officer-involved shooting this year for the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office. The officers involved in the shooting are G. Hernandez and Z. Slatowski. Neither officer received any injuries in this incident.
JSO's Cold Case Detectives responded to conduct their initial investigation alongside the State Attorney's Office who will conduct an independent investigation.
To view the post regarding this incident on JSO's Facebook page, please
click here.
To watch the video from the standup at the scene, please visit
JSO's YouTube Channel or
click here.
Information, as it becomes available regarding this Officer-Involved Shooting, will be posted on JSO's Transparency page at:
https://opendata.jaxsheriff.org/OIS.
Photo of the firearm the suspect had during the officer-involved shooting on Saturday, July 19, 2025:
