Jacksonville Police Officers Shoot Murder Suspect After He Tries To Flee

 

Jacksonville, Florida — November 22, 2022: A violent series of events over several months culminated in the fatal police shooting of 29-year-old Tyree O’Neal Jr., a convicted felon linked to a recent murder and an attempted double shooting. O’Neal’s escalating acts of gun violence prompted a focused investigation by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office (JSO), ultimately leading to a confrontation that ended his life.

The chain of events began two months prior, on September 21, 2022, when a young woman was gunned down in the parking lot of a hotel on Youngerman Circle. Surveillance video captured the moment a vehicle, later linked to O'Neal, pulled up next to a silver SUV. O’Neal exited his car, approached the passenger side of the SUV, and violently dragged an unarmed woman from the vehicle. With a handgun visible in his right hand, O’Neal forced her behind his own car. Moments later, he opened fire, shooting her multiple times at close range. He then fled the scene, leaving her critically wounded on the pavement. She later died from her injuries.

At the crime scene, detectives recovered seven .40 caliber shell casings. These were submitted into the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN) for forensic analysis. Investigators soon learned that O’Neal had a prior relationship with the victim and that the two had recently argued. Two witnesses later came forward, stating that O’Neal had confessed to the killing, which solidified his status as the primary suspect in the case.

Roughly one month later, on October 26, officers responded to another shooting — this time at a gas station in the 5400 block of Timuquana Road. Surveillance footage showed a black SUV drive slowly past a parked vehicle at the pumps. As two men exited the parked vehicle, someone inside the SUV opened fire. One of the men returned fire with a rifle. Investigators recovered ten .40 caliber casings from the scene, which were also entered into the NIBIN system. Forensic analysis linked those casings to the same firearm used in the September 21 hotel murder.

With strong evidence connecting O’Neal to both shootings, and knowing he was prohibited from owning or possessing firearms due to two prior felony convictions, JSO escalated their efforts to locate and arrest him. Officers assigned to JSO’s Special Operations Section were tasked with the apprehension.

On November 22, 2022, officers located O’Neal at 2200 Ernest Street. When he stepped outside the building, officers in clearly marked tactical police uniforms approached to make the arrest. Rather than comply, O’Neal immediately fled on foot. As he ran, officers observed him pulling a rifle from under his sweatshirt. One officer fired at O’Neal, though he was not struck. O’Neal briefly fell and appeared to comply, but before officers could secure him, he got up and fled again, jumping over a nearby fence.

Pursuing officers chased O’Neal through the area until he entered a vehicle and attempted to flee by driving toward the officers. With the car just feet from striking them, multiple officers opened fire, striking O’Neal several times. The car eventually came to a stop, and O’Neal was pronounced dead shortly thereafter from multiple gunshot wounds.

At the scene where O’Neal had initially fallen, detectives recovered both a rifle and a handgun. Forensic testing confirmed that the handgun was the same weapon used in the September hotel murder and the October gas station shooting. Both weapons were submitted for further ballistic analysis.

The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office concluded that O’Neal had been actively involved in multiple violent crimes and posed a direct threat to public safety and to law enforcement. No officers were injured during the operation.