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Officer Still In Hospital After Mall Shootout

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The Associated Press

Published: January 29, 2008

JACKSONVILLE - A police officer wounded in a mall shootout was listed in serious condition Monday, two days after he shot and killed a man suspected of shoplifting, police said.

Officer Jared Reston was shot Saturday night outside the Regency Square mall but was conscious when he was taken to Shands Jacksonville hospital in critical condition, said Undersheriff Frank Mackesy. After surgery, he was listed in serious condition, sheriff's spokesman Ken Jefferson said.

Police said Reston's bulletproof vest saved his life, stopping three bullets fired into his chest. He was hit in the face, leg and buttocks.

The shooting happened when Reston and another officer, both off-duty but in uniform, began chasing two shoplifting suspects. The other officer, C.W. Brown, took one of the suspects into custody as Reston chased the other, according to a sheriff's office report.

Reston repeatedly ordered the other man to stop but he didn't. At the end of the chase, Reston was knocked to the ground and the man fired several times at the officer, Mackesy said. Reston was able to get up and return fire.

The suspect who was killed was identified as Joel Abner, 18. During the gunbattle, Reston fired 14 times and Abner fired 12, police said.
Abner was hit seven times in the exchange of gunfire and was wearing a stolen pair of jeans, police said.

The man taken into custody, Christopher Smith of Jacksonville, has been charged with misdemeanor petty theft and criminal mischief, according to jail records. He was being held on $7,500 bail. Records do not show whether he has an attorney.

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