33-year-old charged in triple shooting, 1 death

1 of 3 men shot last week in Northwest Jacksonville dies

Jacksonville Sheriff's Office booking photo of Martin Luther King

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Police in Jacksonville have arrested 33-year-old Martin Luther King on a murder charge and two counts of aggravated assault after they said he shot three men last week, killing one.

Andrew Stephens, 36, was initially said to be in life-threatening condition after the Jan. 9 shooting at West 25th Street and Spires Avenue. He died later that day at a hospital, according to a police report obtained Thursday.

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Investigators said the victims were playing dominoes in a vacant lot when King drove up, got out of a car with an assault rifle and mask and started shooting.

Police said he opened fired from the opposite side of the street where the three victims were sitting. Of the two others shot, another also suffered life-threatening injuries, and both survived.

Two other homes were struck by the gunfire, police said.

Police said King was looking for payback after someone shot up his wife's grandmother's house on Christmas Day, and he believed one of the men who was wounded was involved.

King told a witness about the shootings, and that witness came forward and told police information that led to the identity of the suspect. In addition, one of the victims saw King take his mask off after the shootings, police said.

King made his first appearance in court Thursday. He's being held in the Duval County jail without bail.