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A community vigil is set to take place at Mickler’s Landing to honor the memory of Melissa Wood, one of the two unfortunate victims in a tragic shooting incident.
In St. Johns County, Florida, the identity of one of the victims from the fatal shooting near TPC Sawgrass on Friday has been confirmed as Melissa Wood.
Wood, who tragically lost her life, leaves behind two children and had recently celebrated becoming a grandmother just over a year ago, according to her brother, Jeremy Hackward. He shared this heartfelt detail in a GoFundMe campaign set up in her memory.
The St. Johns County Sheriff, Rob Hardwick, revealed that the shooting stemmed from a domestic violence issue. On Saturday, authorities identified the suspect as 32-year-old Christian Barrios.
Details from Barrios’s arrest warrant suggest that he allegedly went to the Walgreens located at 860 A1A North to confront Wood and another man, whom Barrios claimed was her second boyfriend. He accused Wood of infidelity, which reportedly led to this tragic confrontation.
The warrant states that once there, Barrios “immediately and frantically” exited a vehicle and walked over to another vehicle before gunshots rang out.
Following the shooting, Wood and the other victim were taken to Baptist Beaches Medical Center, where they died, according to the warrant.
Meanwhile, Hardwick said Barrios headed north, crossing Palm Valley Road, and onto the property of TPC Sawgrass.
Hardwick said deputies believed Barrios had “multiple contacts with people that were just simply inside the tour area,” where The Players Championship was being played.
The sheriff said that several units then “saturated” the area, and later learned that a dark-colored BMW had been stolen.
Once the vehicle’s tag was “hot-listed,” Hardwick said deputies in Nassau County spotted the vehicle near Callahan, as Barrios was later taken into custody early Saturday morning.
According to his warrant, Barrios faces charges of first-degree murder (two counts), shooting into an occupied conveyance, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, burglary to an occupied dwelling and grand theft of a motor vehicle over $20,000 and less than $100,000.
Hackward, in the GoFundMe campaign, calls Barrios an “insecure, jealous ex-boyfriend.”
Wood’s estranged husband, Jeff Wood, told First Coast News a vigil is being held for Melissa on Friday, March 20. He said the community is invited to attend, saying “the community needs closure from this.”
The vigil will be held at Mickler’s Landing at 6 p.m.
