‘A hellacious gun battle’: City officials thank first responders, assure citizens that they’re safe

BY JENNIFER CABRERA

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – During a press conference today following the officer-involved shooting of a man who is suspected of killing an individual in a nearby business before shooting at police officers in what Gainesville Police Department Chief Nelson Moya described as “a hellacious gun battle,” officials called the incident “an anomaly” and assured residents of the area that they are safe.

Recap of the incident

Chief Moya said that at 7:56 a.m., officers responded to a 911 call about a shot fired on East University Avenue, and three officers who were already in the area responded almost immediately; he said the officers identified a man driving a red car as a suspect and followed him in marked patrol cars. Moya said, “Immediately, the subject stopped his vehicle and absolutely assaulted our officers and met them with gunfire in an ambush-style attack. Our officers, by the grace of God, were able to engage the suspect in a violent exchange of gunfire, resulting in the death of the assailant, who passed on scene.”

Moya said the scene was chaotic, in the middle of rush-hour traffic on a busy road, but first responders quickly attended to the two officers who were shot and took them to a hospital.

Moya said, “Information we had received took us to a nearby business, a lumber yard, where the initial suspect was seen entering.” A person found deceased inside the business had also been shot, and Moya said he believes the deceased subject parked at 1300 East University Avenue, behind the KFC, walked over to the lumber yard, engaged the victim inside, killed the victim, walked back to his car, and was met by officers as he attempted to flee the area.

Moya said one officer was wounded “in the lower extremity” and the other “in the upper extremity,” but both are awake and expected to recover fully.

Moya thanked the responding officers “for their heroism and their actions,” the public for their patience, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement for investigating the officer-involved shooting, Alachua County Sheriff’s Office for handling other calls for service, University of Florida Police Department for their help and resources, and the FBI and ATF for their assistance “as we continue to battle all that is gun-related violence.” He emphasized that he was “proud of our officers today, of our employees,… both sworn and civilian.”

Moya concluded his initial statement by saying, “The message that I continue, and we continue, to say in this community is, we continue to battle gun-related violence by any means necessary. And again, this should showcase that this community and this department is not only trained, but ready for anybody who wants to challenge that.”

Suspect not identified

Moya said that officers are still notifying the families of the deceased and researching the background of the suspect, so he was not ready yet to identify the suspect. He said, however, “We do know that there was clear intention… Based on what we know, the assailant acted today with clear intent.”

Gun violence has dropped dramatically: “This is an anomaly.”

Moya emphasized that gun violence has dropped dramatically over the past two years, with an 11% drop between 2023 and 2024 and another 16% drop in 2025: “This is an anomaly. This is something that can’t be tolerated in our community, and we will continue to battle it, as we have for the last two years, with many leaders and many stakeholders doing their part to keep gun violence well under control.”

“We’re safe… The community is not in danger at this point”

Moya’s message to residents in the area was, “We’re safe… The community is not in danger at this point of anything related to this incident.” He encouraged residents to continue to go about their business and “enjoy your life, because we have your back, and we appreciate your continued support of our organization.”

Moya said he didn’t know yet which officer shot the suspect, “but we do know that there was a hellacious gun battle.”

City Manager expresses gratitude to the officers

Gainesville City Manager Andrew Persons said he was “incredibly thankful for the bravery of the officers who responded,… and I’m glad that… we’re [not] talking about a different scenario with officers more seriously hurt… I’m just proud of the officers that responded, proud of the men and women that work for law enforcement agencies here in town.”

Mayor: “We want to reassure everyone that we’re okay. It’s going to be okay.”

Gainesville Mayor Harvey Ward expressed his condolences “not only to the folks who have experienced loss of life, the families of those folks, and to those injured, but also to the surrounding neighborhoods.” He also mentioned the drop in homicides between 2023 and 2025 and added, “This is certainly not the way we want to start the year, but as the Chief mentioned, this is an anomaly, and the most important thing I can tell folks who are in the surrounding neighborhoods is, you are safe. This is not an ongoing situation. This was an anomaly.” Ward said he had visited both officers in the hospital and appreciated everyone who responded to the scene. He concluded, “We want to reassure everyone that we’re okay. It’s going to be okay. Certainly, we’ll all be thinking and praying on this and doing everything that we can to… make sure that we do not experience this again.”

City Commissioner Duncan-Walker: “I have full confidence that we are going to continue to address gun violence in meaningful, effective, impactful ways”

District 1 City Commissioner Desmon Duncan-Walker also thanked everyone who responded to the incident and added, “I want the individuals in District 1 to hear a very clear message that not only states that you are safe, but that the Gainesville City Commission will continue to bring resources to bear to ensure that safety as we move forward.” She said the City would “continue in the spirit of recognizing that gun violence is a public health issue, that those resources will continue to be brought to bear.”

Duncan-Walker said, “This is an isolated case. District 1 will continue to grow stronger, and I have full confidence that we are going to continue to address gun violence in meaningful, effective, impactful ways, and that this will just continue to be one of those things that will not become the norm… The City is 100% on top of things.”

For additional reporting on this incident, see these articles:

• Suspect and victim dead, two officers injured in East University Avenue shooting
• Names of victim and shooter in yesterday’s East University Avenue incident released
• GPD: Motive in Imeca murder is currently unknown