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Prosecutors drop attempted murder, child abuse charges for man accused in Oakleaf custody-exchange shooting

Katherine Langford
Editor-in-Chief · Tuesday, October 20, 2026 at 4:08 PM · 1 min read
Prosecutors drop attempted murder, child abuse charges for man accused in Oakleaf custody-exchange shooting — News4JAX Local, St. Augustine Sports news
Image: News4JAX Local

A man accused of opening fire during a child custody exchange in Oakleaf now faces one charge: possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.RELATED: Gunfire at a Clay County custody exchange raises concerns about the safety of face-to-face handoffs Darrius Elighah Winard Kirkland, 32, was initially arrested on attempted second-degree murder with a weapon, child abuse and firearm-possession charges. A charging notice filed Oct. 8 in Clay County lists only the firearm charge as filed and says the other charges were dropped or changed.The court document alleges Kirkland possessed a firearm Sept. 18 despite a prior felony conviction. It does not explain why prosecutors did not file the other charges.The Clay County Sheriff’s Office said Kirkland accompanied his girlfriend to a scheduled custody exchange with her estranged husband and opened fire with an AR-style rifle. The father returned fire, and the mother got both children to safety. No one was hit, but bullets struck the father’s vehi

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