JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The family of Jamel Taylor, 29, is calling for justice after he was fatally shot Wednesday outside a BP gas station at Atlantic Boulevard and St. Johns Bluff.

Loved ones describe Taylor as a devoted father to five children and a beloved figure in his community.

Taylor’s family said he had stopped briefly at the gas station when tragedy struck.

“You ripped this man away from his children,” his girlfriend, Tara Knoop, said. “They deserve to grow up with their dad.”

The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office said a man was pronounced dead at the scene, and another individual was injured during the shooting. Investigators say multiple firearms were involved but stated that the incident does not appear to be gang-related.

At the Mayport Jetties, one of Taylor’s favorite places, family members gathered to share memories and express their heartbreak.

“He wasn’t even 30,” Knoop said. “He wasn’t just another Black man in a shooting. He was Jamel Valentino Taylor—a father, a partner, and someone who lit up every room he entered.”

Taylor’s children are struggling to understand his death.

“She said, ‘My daddy wasn’t a bad person,’” Nicole Wise, the mother of his daughter said. “And I told her, ‘I know, baby. He wasn’t.’”

The family is urging anyone with information about the shooting to come forward.

“Jamel’s story is going to be heard,” they said. “We will have justice for Jamel.”

The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office stated that the investigation remains active but has not released additional details or identified any suspects.

Anyone with any information pertaining the case can contact the JSO at 904-630-0500 or via email at JSOCrimetips@jaxsheriff.org