JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office is looking for the person who robbed a fireworks stand and shot an employee during the Fourth of July in Jacksonville’s San Jose Forest area.

In an exclusive interview with First Coast News, the stand’s owners said that it was a grandfather who was shot while trying to protect his grandson. 

“Something you don’t expect,” Shane Kent, an owner of Extreme Fireworks, said.

For over a decade, the Kent family has managed fireworks stands all across the First Coast through their company Extreme Fireworks.

“We’ve been on University Boulevard right over there, six years and never had a problem at all and so we decided to come over here,” Kent said.

This year, while crowds were out watching fireworks light up the sky, Kent got a call that his employee had just been shot.

The robbery took place around 11 p.m. at the stand located at Dupont Avenue and St. Augustine Road. Kent says a grandfather and his grandson were working the stand when a suspect parked in front, came inside and pointed a gun demanding money.

According to police, the grandfather was shot in the torso, the injuries considered non-life threatening.

“He was protecting his grandson, and he’s a veteran as well so that fight reflex kinda kicked in,” Kent said.

The suspect got away with the register and the grandson was not injured.

“It comes out of our pocket and we’re locals. Why would you do this to your local community? We’re not Walmart or anything. It sucks,” Kent said.

JSO is searching for that suspect. Anyone with information related to the incident is asked to contact the Sheriff’s office at 904-630-0500, go online to JSOCRIMETIPS@JAXSHERIFF.ORG, or call the Crime Stoppers hotline at 866-845-TIPS.