JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Residents of a shopping center on Jacksonville’s Westside are raising alarms, expressing concerns over the area’s reputation as a hub for nighttime disturbances and criminal activity.

Just days ago, the parking lot of Paxon Shopping Center was the scene of a fatal shooting, adding to a growing list of troubling events that have left locals anxious about their security.

Statistics from the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office indicate that since the onset of 2025, the shopping center has been the site of more than 100 police responses. These calls have varied from noise disturbances to altercations and, at times, escalated disputes involving weapons.

“Feeling secure is challenging when there’s so much happening right on our doorstep,” shared a nearby resident and mother of two. She noted that the situation intensifies during late nights and weekends.

“Lots of noise, lots of music, loud, loud music,” she said. “I had my mom visit and she couldn’t even sleep during the weekend because of the noise.”

According to JSO records, out of the more than 100 calls made to the area this year, there were 26 disputes, four involving weapons, seven noise complaints and five fights. The most recent deadly shooting claimed the life of Corey Denmark.

“Very alarming,” the mother said. “People know the drill, they disperse and then come back. We just want the issue to be taken more seriously.”

District 5 Commander Harry Massey says the Paxon Shopping Center has long been a property where JSO receives numerous complaints and calls for service.

He says patrons will frequent the liquor store. Some individuals will often congregate in the parking lot while playing car stereos loudly, or revving their engines, spinning their tires and doing burnouts.

He went on to say most of the complaints and calls for service occur late at night.

The sheriff’s office dispatches calls for service on a priority scale wherein shootings, robberies, physical violence, burglaries in progress and crashes with injuries have the highest priority.  As a result, a noise complaint for this property will be dispatched and responded to by JSO as soon as an officer is available to address it.

 He said during the last year, officers conducted more than 20 deployments in and around the Paxon Shopping Center area in an attempt to deter the late-night behavior by some patrons.

The deployments resulted in people receiving verbal warnings, traffic citations, notice to appear citations, and trespass warnings.  As a result of business owners hiring private security, the loitering in the parking lot has been reduced.

JSO has spoken with management at the liquor store advise customers to stay inside the business and not congregate on the sidewalks and parking lot.

They also advised management to call JSO if they have any issues with people congregating in the parking lot so we can address issues before it becomes a larger problem.

“Patrol officers will continue to frequent the area and conduct further deployments at the shopping center if necessary to curtail any nuisance/criminal violations,” Massey said in a statement.

Despite the repeated problems, some say they don’t feel unsafe.

“I feel safe as hell coming here,” said Akeem Nelson, who frequents the shopping center. “Usually everybody’s just up here drinking, minding their business, doing whatever they do after they get off work. That’s really it.”

First Coast News visited the liquor store in person, but management declined to comment.

Nelson said he believes much of what happens in the area stems from personal disputes that spill out into public spaces.

“You can’t put safety measures in place when people have stuff going on in their own lives that just so happen to go down in the shopping plaza,” he said.

Still, many neighbors say they want stronger action and more consistent peace of mind.

“We’re just wanting some safety, some security and some peace of mind,” the mother said. “We’re planning to reinforce our own security here, for our own sake, and especially for the kids who want to play outside. We want to feel that they’re safe.”