I haven’t seen any news related to the supposed “riot in Five Points” on Friday. I do have two separate accounts of the events reported by two different people. I’ll let you draw your own conclusions.
Account #1
We left 5 Points on bike for the fireworks at about 9:00; starting at about 8:00 or so, a really big group of teenage black kids was gathering for a show at the 5 Points Theatre.
At around 10:15, we got several calls, all basically describing a riot in 5 Points– tear gas, police carrying machine guns, and 3 shots fired (although this has not been confirmed, and the owners of the Theatre tell us that the police told them no one was shot).
Basically, from hearing several different first-hand accounts, the promoters of the show at the Theatre oversold it, the cops started telling people to leave, the crowd reacted disfavorable (shall we say) to this, and then mayhem broke out, all of which was responsibly and quickly handled by JSO. No property damage, no one shot.
But, as a personal point, I would like to emphasize that this was not violence by neighborhood regulars– these were out-of-control kids who are not our customers or clientele, and who had no respect for, or connection to, the neighborhood. All in all, a scary situation which was, apparently, blown out of proportion by word-of-mouthers, and aptly handled by JSO.
Account #2
Obtaining the CORRECT info for what really happened, may be a task- but I know what I saw.
About 30 cops, strolling around with assault rifles (rubber/real bullets, who knows, there is a debate going on regarding that)- tear gas (or something resembling tear gas) in cans was released in 5 points center- several search helicopters circling 5 pts- three people were rumored to be shot.
Some people claim that cops confirmed that three people WERE shot- others have a different take on what they were told. A friend of mine who stayed in 5 pts throughout it all stated that someone was shot behind Fuel, near the shell/tropical food mart, and in another location.
I saw SEVERAL people running from the direction of lomax- so that might be where the other shooting took place.
Not sure why everyone is refusing to report the story- its not on the news or anything, which is probably why you couldn’t find anything about it. Given the other shootings that took place that same day- there is no reason why this one should go un-reported considering the level of police presence, and obvious violence that was taking place.
Cops did not appear to have a strong handle on situation while I witnessed it- it could be that they got things under control after I left Riverside. Who knows.
Also, I was informed by someone who works in 5 pts, that cops instructed 5 pts vendors/owners to stay quiet about what happened.
Here is a link relevant to the ‘riot’- which you should know has been dubbed as a race riot by several people. http://www.metrojacksonville.com/forum/index.php/topic,2668.0.html
I guess it’s one of those events that everyone will have a different view on what happened- but something definitely happened on Friday night- and no one is talking about it.
