JSO arrests 16-year-old suspect for triple shooting after Raines-Lee high school football game

Jacksonville, FL — Following a deadly, triple shooting outside the Raines High vs. Lee High football game this past Friday night, the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office is announcing an arrest.

JSO has identified their suspect as 16-year-old Robert Howard, who is a student at Grand Park Alternative School.

Sheriff Mike Williams says Howard is believed to have been involved in a fight with the two male victims of this shooting inside the stadium, though it's not yet clear if that was the motive. Williams says all three of those individuals also have gang ties.

“We believe the confrontation could be the motive, however, their associations with these criminal street gangs opens up other potential motives,” explains Williams.

Williams says detectives were led to their suspect, Howard, over the course of witness interviews, leading to his arrest Tuesday morning. JSO says they’re still working through the exact details of what happened that night, including where Howard may have gotten the gun.

Howard is charged with murder and two counts of attempted murder.

Joerod Adams, 19, was killed in the shooting. JSO identified the other two victims as a 16-year-old female Lee High School student and a 17-year-old male Ribault High School student.

Williams addressed the need city-wide to address gangs and gang violence in the wake of this shooting and others.

“You’ve heard me say a million times, if you get involved in the life of a young person early, you keep them off the street corner, keeping them busy, after-school and summer programs-- they never get involved in some of this activity. Once they get involved, we have other strategies we do to try to impact that,” says Williams.

Williams further expressing his horror about violence among youth, saying, “This suspect is a 16-year-old male. Think about that for a minute. He’s 16. That’s incredible, that’s unbelievable... Where do we get to the point that a 16-year-old male thinks it’s OK to murder someone in cold blood at a football game, at a high school football game?”

Mayor Lenny Curry also spoke Tuesday, following Howard’s arrest, repeating a message from the principal of Raines High School.

“This does not reflect the hard work happening at Raines High School. This does not reflect the parents, the students, the principal, the teachers, that are over there doing good work, every single day,” says Curry.

This shooting prompted change within Duval County Public Schools, with Superintendent Dr. Diana Greene announcing on Monday that the district would be moving football games with "large attendance crowds" to either Saturday morning or to a 5:30 p.m. start time on Thursday or Friday.

The sheriff’s office says it’s continuing to seek any information or videos related to this shooting and are urging anyone who witnessed what happened to either call them at (904) 630-0500 or Crime Stoppers at 1-866-845-TIPS.

WATCH: FULL BRIEFING FROM THE JACKSONVILLE SHERIFF’S OFFICE