:strip_exif(true):strip_icc(true):no_upscale(true):quality(65):fill(FFF)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gmg/LLCQS72FUJASHAXDLJPMNJ472A.jpg "Tip helps police find “armed and dangerous” man connected to Southside shooting")
JACKSONVILLE, Florida. – Jacksonville police said a “tip from an observant citizen” helped them locate George Kenneth Litgen, 50, after a shootout in the city’s Southside that left a man seriously injured.
Neighbors told News4Jax that the victim was Litgen’s half-brother, Sheldon Walker, 25. They said he was shot in the head. Police said the victim must not survive.
Police confirmed that the two men have a history of domestic violence against each other.
Saturday’s shooting was reported at 3:20 am in a house on Bunnell Drive. Police said a third man was in the house when the shots were fired, and neighbors told News4Jax that the half brothers live with an 85-year-old man.
A neighbor told News4Jax that he heard an argument that woke him up.
“I heard someone shout around 3 am and when I left, there were several police cars here; an ambulance and firefighters came a little later, ”said Jeff Seibert. “It seems like there is no place that is not subject to any crime in this city, so it is really surprising.”
A Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office helicopter was seen flying over the Windy Hill neighborhood on Saturday and the K-9 unit was looking for the sniper. The police said Litgen should be “considered to be armed and dangerous” and told the public not to approach if he saw him.
They said someone who saw Litgen informed him and he was arrested for attempted murder. The police thanked everyone who released the news.
** UPDATE: Thanks to a tip from an observant citizen, George Litgen was located and arrested by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office. Thanks to everyone who shared your photo and information. ** pic.twitter.com/mJcNPUWNmw
– Jax Sheriff’s Office (@JSOPIO) January 23, 2021
According to JSO records, last November, Walker was arrested for an aggravated domestic battery charge after Walker hit his stepbrother on the head with a frying pan. Charges were lifted last month. He also had other arrests.
Litgen also has a history of arrests. Among them, he spent a period in prison in 2009 for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon with no intention of killing and served time in the county jail in 2016 for domestic assault.
News4Jax requested Litgen’s previous detention reports for more details on these cases.
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