Two people are accused of shooting undercover officers 18 times

Two men are accused of trying to kill two undercover officers in Jacksonville by shooting 18 times at their unmarked car.

Anthony E. Trotter, 22, and Ja’Von Brown, 23, are being held without bail on attempted murder charges, jail records show.

Investigators were working undercover when they saw a man walking on Florida Avenue at East 22nd Street. Seconds later, the man in her car fired 18 shots at her and then fled in a car driven by someone else.

Investigators were not injured but were unable to fire back or pursue the suspects, Sheriff TK Waters said during a news conference Thursday.

“Undercover agents face unique dangers as they work to stop the flow of dangerous drugs and poisons that both harm our citizens through addiction and fuel violence in our community,” Waters said. “These detectives were almost killed just sitting in their car for no reason at all. There was no skirmish before the shooting, no provocation of any kind.”

Waters did not provide any information about the men’s gang or how SWAT and gang units and others found the suspects.

Trotter was arrested Sept. 26 and Brown was arrested Wednesday, jail records show.