Neighbors told Action News Jacksonville  the teenager tried to steal a vehicle overnight in their neighborhood, which is less than half a mile from Thomas Jefferson Elementary School.

JSO said neighbors held the teen at gunpoint, when they caught him and called 911.

Neighbor Keith Leister said, “We told him to stop. He didn't want to stop; he just wanted to keep walking. He said ‘I would rather for y'all to shoot me than for me to go to jail.’ I said ‘Well, you’re going to jail tonight partner.’"

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Passengers wait at a Delta check-in counter at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport domestic terminal on Friday, Nov. 7, 2025, the first day of the Federal Aviation Administration cutting flight capacity at airports during the government shutdown. (Arvin Temkar/AJC)

Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com