A 21-year-old Marine died after accidentally shooting himself in the head while showing several people how a firearm worked outside a Jacksonville home on Monday. Jordan Joines was found with a gunshot wound in the front yard of 123-A Sanders St. and later died at Naval Hospital, according to Jacksonville police.
Officers responded to the shooting report at the Sanders Street address on Monday, as reported by WCTI. Investigators determined in their initial review that Joines accidentally shot himself while demonstrating the firearm's mechanics to several people who were present. Police said there is no threat to the community, and the station notes the investigation remains active and ongoing.
Joines was an active-duty United States Marine Corps member who enlisted after graduating in 2024 from Creekview High School in Canton, Georgia, where he met his wife, Aaliyah, according to The NC Beat. Following his death, his family launched a GoFundMe campaign confirming he was born on May 12, 2005, and describing him as a devoted husband, son, brother and uncle, the outlet reports.
A City Built Around the Marine Corps
Jacksonville is home to Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune and Marine Corps Air Station New River, with Camp Lejeune supporting roughly 33,000 active military members, per the Charlotte Business Journal. U.S. Census data identifies Jacksonville as demographically the youngest city in the country, with a median age of 22.8 years driven by that heavy military presence, according to the city and Census figures.
Camp Lejeune safety protocols strictly prohibit personal weapon target shooting outside designated ranges and require that private firearms be transported in locked containers, per Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune guidelines. Joines' death occurred off-base, in a private yard, while he was showing the weapon's mechanics to onlookers rather than firing it at an approved range.
Open Questions as Detective Continues Investigation
Police asked anyone with information to contact Detective A. Debonis at 910-938-6418 or by email at [email protected]. Key details remain unresolved as the active investigation continues, including who owned the firearm, whether any safety mechanism failed or was bypassed, and whether prosecutors will weigh any negligence findings once the probe concludes.
Under North Carolina General Statutes § 14-315.1, storing a dischargeable firearm in a way that is accessible to an unsupervised minor who subsequently causes injury or death is a Class 1 misdemeanor, according to the North Carolina General Assembly. It is not known whether that statute has any bearing on this case, which involved an adult victim.
Part of a Statewide Pattern
The North Carolina Department of Public Safety launched its NC S.A.F.E. initiative in 2023 to curb preventable gun deaths, noting that youth firearm mortality statewide doubled between 2019 and 2021. More recently, state public safety officials reported that firearm incidents in 2024 resulted in 92 youth fatalities and sent 525 children to North Carolina emergency rooms.
Federal health data indicates that for every fatal unintentional firearm discharge nationally, roughly 13 people receive emergency treatment for non-fatal accidental gunshots, underscoring how often demonstrations or mishandling like what happened on Sanders Street turn deadly. Jacksonville police have investigated other recent gun-related cases, including a September firearm incident near Plaza Manor Court that Hoodline previously covered, in which shots fired from a moving SUV struck two occupied apartments without injuring anyone.
Crime Stoppers is accepting anonymous information about the shooting at 910-938-3273, offering cash rewards up to $5,000 for information determined valuable to law enforcement. Tips can also be submitted anonymously by texting TIP4CSJAX along with a message to 274637.
