17 Year Old Gets Shot Dead By Jacksonville Police After Charging Them With Machete

A 17-year-old who police say threatened paramedics and officers with a machete Saturday night on the city’s Westside was killed in an officer-involved shooting, according to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office.

It happened after Jacksonville Fire Rescue responded to a medical call just before 10 p.m. on Monroe Smith Road, north of 103rd Street in Jacksonville Heights West. Police said when rescue personnel approached the home, a man ran out wielding a large machete, chased the rescue officers into a wooded area and went back into the home.

JFRD called JSO and officers carefully approached the house. Police said as officers drew close, the person ran back out of the home, again brandishing the machete. One of the officers fired three shots at the armed suspect, killing him on the scene.

No officers or firefighters were injured during the incident.

On Monday afternoon police identified the suspect as Axal Perez. His family told News4Jax his name was spelled Axel Perez. His cousin said the teenager moved here one month ago from Orlando for a construction job.

Perez’s father does not speak English but said through a translator that he wants justice, especially since his son was so young.

A neighbor who did not want his name used said he saw Perez throw a firework into the air, which fell back onto the ground, knocking him out. He said the teen wasn’t himself when he woke up.

“Police (were) coming here and I saw through that window the boy coming with a machete,” the neighbor said. “I tell the police, ‘Hey be careful. He has a machete,' and I hear it and the police shoot him.”

Police say the officer involved has been with JSO for one year and this is his first officer-involved shooting. He has been placed on administrative leave, which is standard procedure.

The State Attorney’s Office and JSO will conduct separate investigations into the shooting.