BAKER COUNTY, Fla — A person is dead and two people are hospitalized after a shooting in Macclenny, according to the Baker County Sheriff’s Office. 

The Baker County Sheriff’s Office tells First Coast News seven people were involved in what appears to have been a planned altercation that escalated into gunfire.

The shooting occurred off Woodlawn Road near Hillcrest Drive Friday. 

BCSO is now saying that there were seven people involved in an altercation at the scene. Two were under 18 and five were “young adults.” 

Police did not reveal the ages of the people shot, but said the two victims who survived are undergoing surgery. 

“These are young people,” Sheriff Scotty Rhoden said. “There are young adults, and we encourage them, altercations are going to happen, but when you bring firearms to the altercation, it’s usually someone innocent that loses their life or somebody loses their life, and you cannot bring that individual back.”

Neighbors spoke with First Coast News and heard several gunshots earlier in the day.

“I heard a gunshot, but I was watching a movie, and I thought it was coming from the movie,” 13-year-old Wyatt Bender said. 

“Out of all the years I’ve been here, I’ve never been scared till now,” his grandmother, Kimberly Russell added.

The sheriff’s office said there is no further threat to the community. Detectives are interviewing and Florida Department of Law Enforcement is at the scene. 

“This area is a safe area, and nobody is on the loose,” Rhoden said. “We are diligently working to piece this together.”

BCSO said there would be police activity at Hillcrest Drive and Woodlawn Road for “several hours.” 

Police have released a picture of a man named John Akridge, who they say is a person of interest in the case. Akridge is 18 years old and pictured below. 

Anyone with any information regarding the shooting can call Lt. Dave Mancini at 904-466-0380.