Jacksonville police responded to a reported shooting near the Legends Center on Soutel Drive late Friday night, with Jacksonville Fire Rescue describing the scene as active while officers investigated gunfire and possible victim injuries. The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office was called to the area around the community center just before 10:42 pm, according to an initial report published early Saturday.
According to Action News Jax, JSO was responding to a reported shooting in the area of the Legends Center, and the outlet said it was sending a crew to gather more details. The report, written by content creator Malina Cureton, noted that Action News Jax would continue updating the story online and on air as more information became available. As of the initial report, no suspect information, motive, or confirmed injury count had been released.
Fire Rescue crews further characterized the scene as active as officers worked to determine whether anyone had been hurt, as reported by First Coast News. That outlet's coverage added first-responder detail beyond the sheriff's office's preliminary alert, though the injury status of any victims remained unconfirmed in the early reporting.
A Community Hub With a Complicated History
The Legends Center and Gymnasium sits at 5130 Soutel Drive in Northwest Jacksonville, a 35,000-square-foot city-owned facility with an official-size basketball court, a fitness center, an elevated walking track, and community rooms, according to the City of Jacksonville's Parks, Recreation and Community Services department. The center also serves as one of the city's primary emergency shelters, a role Hoodline has covered before when Jacksonville opened it as a warming center during winter cold snaps.
This month, the city designated the Legends Center as one of five sites hosting Hoop2nite+, an after-school program offering evening basketball and games for teenagers ages 13 to 18 on Thursday and Friday nights, per the parks department. The program reflects a broader municipal push to give neighborhood teens a safe, structured place to be in the evenings.
But the center has also been the backdrop for serious violence before. In December 2022, 13-year-old Prince Holland was killed and two others were wounded in a drive-by shooting that targeted an SUV carrying four teenagers and a youth coach shortly after they left football tryouts at the Legends Center, according to News4JAX. Years earlier, in April 2015, a 21-year-old man was shot and wounded during a large Easter Sunday gathering at the center, and officers had to disperse crowds that had formed in the adjacent parking lots.
Soutel Drive's Recent Spate of Violence
Friday's shooting comes just three weeks after 38-year-old Frederick Hughes was fatally shot in a parking lot on Soutel Drive near New Kings Road on August 3, an incident that drew public pleas from local clergy and Hughes's family for increased public safety measures along the corridor. Faith-based organization ICARE and other Jacksonville civic leaders have separately called on the sheriff's office to overhaul its Group Violence Intervention strategy to improve outreach and deterrence in high-risk commercial areas, according to Action News Jax.
The renewed concern along Soutel Drive comes even as the city's overall homicide numbers have trended sharply downward. Jacksonville Sheriff's Office open data recorded 36 murders and 41 total homicides citywide through mid-August, and figures have fallen nearly 47 percent from a 2020 peak of 175 homicides to about 82 in 2024, putting the city on pace for its lowest homicide rate in over a decade, per data compiled by Omnilert. Local leaders have attributed the broader decline to targeted intelligence operations and Group Violence Intervention efforts, even as residents along Soutel Drive say the corridor itself has not felt the same relief.
What Investigators Haven't Said
As of the initial reporting, JSO had not released any details about a suspect, a motive, or the specific circumstances that led to Friday night's gunfire near the Legends Center. Fire Rescue's characterization of the scene as active suggested the investigation was still unfolding in real time when the first reports emerged.
Anyone with information about the shooting can contact the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office or First Coast Crime Stoppers, which offers anonymous cash rewards of up to $3,000 for tips leading to an arrest in active gun violence and homicide cases. This is a developing story, and Hoodline will update it as the sheriff's office releases further information.
