GIFFORD, Fla. — The Indian River County sheriff said his deputies are back on the job after a deputy-involved shooting last month in Gifford.
It was already a tough day for Nicole Geffrard, returning home from a family funeral. Then during the overnight hours on June 11, she got a call to head to Gifford.
Her son, Jamall Frederick, 19, was shot after law enforcement claimed he ran with a gun from a traffic stop.
Arriving at the scene, Geffrard was first told by onlookers that her son was dead.
"It was a whirlwind. My heart was completely gone," Geffrard said.
Geffrard later found out her son was taken to the hospital for surgery.
"Found out he was shot seven times. All of his wounds are in the back area," Geffrard said.
To this day, more than a month later, Geffrard said she’s never been contacted by the sheriff’s office about her son’s situation.
"I found out my son was at the jail when my son called me from the jail. He had just gotten out of surgery two hours prior to him being transported to the jail," Geffrard said.
On social media Wednesday, Sheriff Eric Flowers confirmed Frederick’s status and that the agency's criminal investigation is wrapping up.
"He is in our custody, charged with possession of a firearm by convicted felon, resisting with violence, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon," Flowers said.
"They thought they were at a gun range? Out in that community, anybody could have been hit as well," Geffrard said.
Geffrard says her son, the oldest of her four children, is a good kid who found himself hanging with a bad crowd. Now she’s wondering what’s next.
"That he can maybe walk normal again in life. That’s what I want right now," Geffrard said.
WPTV reached out to the sheriffs office regarding Geffrard’s claims that it has not reached out to her since the shooting. A lieutenant tells us that's not true.