Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office cruisers packed the parking lot of the Circle K at Central Parkway and St. Johns Bluff Road early Thursday, shutting down the gas station as officers worked a reported shooting about a mile from the University of North Florida. Patrol vehicles blocked the pumps, crime-scene tape stretched across the front doors, and nearby residents and drivers were urged to steer clear of the intersection while detectives combed through the scene.
According to News4JAX, officers kept the front entrance blocked off as they processed the area across from the Shoppes at East Point Landing, right at the corner of Central Parkway. The outlet noted this is not the same Circle K near the Avenues Mall where a man was fatally shot the night before, a distinction that underscores how often police have been racing to gas station parking lots lately. Investigators were on site and, as of early Thursday, were keeping a tight lid on further details.
JSO's public "Completed Dispatched Calls for Service" feed shows multiple early-morning dispatches in the Central Parkway and St. Johns Bluff area on Thursday, including an entry tied to the 11600 block of Central Parkway, suggesting a cluster of calls in the vicinity; the feed is publicly viewable on the sheriff’s site. JSO's calls-for-service log had not been accompanied by a separate public statement about this specific Circle K scene when local crews first reported the closure.
Pattern at convenience-store intersections
Convenience stores at busy Southside intersections have been the backdrop for volatile confrontations in recent months, and local reporting has tracked several incidents at gas stations across Northeast Florida. News4JAX's coverage highlights past shootings and police responses at Circle K locations around the region, context that helps explain why officers moved quickly to lock down this scene. Detectives at the Central Parkway station were collecting evidence and canvassing for witnesses early Thursday.
How to help investigators
Anyone with information about the incident is asked to contact the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office. Per the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, non-emergency tips can be phoned in at 904-630-0500 and emergencies should be reported to 911. We will update this story as authorities release more details.
