A routine Saturday evening Beach Boulevard traffic crash ended with two Jacksonville police officers shooting and killing a 69-year-old man.
The bizarre incident began at about 6 p.m. when police responded to a traffic crash with injuries at the intersection of Beach Boulevard and I-295, JSO Chief Alan Parker said at a news briefing.
Witnesses told police that a Toyota Camry turning from the eastbound lanes of Beach Boulevard onto the northbound I-295 entrance ramp was struck by a westbound SUV whose driver had run a run a red light.
A woman driving the car told police that after the vehicles collided, she looked at the man in the SUV and saw him give her a “thumbs up” before he exited the vehicle and began wandering around.
She, along with her children ages 7 and 10, received minor injuries in the crash, police said, and were treated at the scene.
But the man began making statements that he “was going to shoot himself,” Parker said rescue crews and another witness told police.
Officers verified the man had a gun and cleared the immediate area of the accident.
After 20 minutes of negotiating with the man — who refused to give his name — police said a bicyclist rode through the scene, and when the man with the gun still in his hands turned towards the bicyclist, “the officers had to engage him,” Parker said.
The man, whose name was not released pending notification of next of kin, was taken to a local hospital, where he died.
The two officers who fatally shot the man were identified as Greg Hernandez, a 6-year veteran of the force, and Z. Slatowski, a 4.5-year veteran, Alan said. It was the first officer-involved shooting for each.
The shooting is the second this week and third this month that involved a police officer with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office.
On July 15, Jacksonville police shot and killed a man they said was attacking a pregnant woman who was trying to shield her child from the suspect in an incident in the 12500 block of Brahma Bull Circle near New Berlin Road. After using Tasers several times on the suspect, police fatally shot the man.
On July 9, Officer Luis Mercado, a four-year veteran of JSO, was shot in the leg during a gunfight with a robbery suspect on Soutel Drive near Norfolk Boulevard. The suspect, 20, was critically wounded in the confrontation and died at a local hospital.
Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office police cruisers block Beach Boulevard on Saturday, July 19, 2025, following an officer-involved shooting.
How many police shootings in Jacksonville in 2025?
It marks the Sheriff’s Office’s 12th police shooting this year. Six have been fatal. Last year had a total of eight, with three being fatal, according to Florida Times-Union records.
This story has been updated to include new information.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jacksonville police shooting closes Beach Boulevard
