The St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office reported that a man shot and killed two people at a Walgreens parking lot less than a mile from a main parking area for TPC Sawgrass, site of The Players Championship in Ponte Vedra Beach. It happened about 10:30 p.m. Friday, March 13.
The suspect was identified, tracked and taken into custody by 8 a.m. the next day in Nassau County, according to the Sheriff’s Office there.
The incident also delayed spectator entry for the golf tournament until 9 a.m., although scheduled tee times remained unaffected.
In a briefing early in the morning, St. Johns Sheriff Robert Hardwick said the gunman crossed onto the PGA Tour property and encountered employees at the tournament site while fleeing, and at one point picked up and then dropped a PGA radio.
Hardwick said he subsequently committed a burglary and auto theft of a BMW at a residence at about 4 a.m., then fled northward as agencies from multiple departments traced the license plate of the stolen vehicle.
The Nassau County Sheriff’s Office said deputies initiated a traffic stop on the vehicle at about 5 a.m. in the Hilliard area on U.S. 1 near Sauls Road. A short pursuit ended in a crash, and he took off on foot into the woods.
In joint efforts, Nassau and St. Johns K9 units tracked Barrios into the woods and Nassau K9 Rex located him hiding just before 8 a.m at County Road 108, just south of Middle Road near Callahan. Barrios was apprehended and taken into custody without incident, the sheriff’s offices said in an afternoon updated.
Barrios is charged with two counts of first-degree murder, burglary of an occupied dwelling, possession of a firearm by a felon, shooting into a conveyance, grand theft of a motor vehicle, aggravated fleeing, resisting law enforcement without violence, reckless driving and driving with a suspended license. He is jailed without bail.
“I am proud of the coordinated effort by NCSO from our dispatch, patrol, K9, SRT (Special Response Team), drone, and special operations units,” Nassau Sheriff Bill Leeper said. “We worked collaboratively with our partner law enforcement agencies to swiftly apprehend this suspect.”
What is known about Christian Barrios?
Hardwick described the shooting as domestic in nature, and both victims were known to the suspect. None lived in St. Johns County. Hardwick identified the suspect as Christian Joseph Barrios, who just turned 32 and has an extensive criminal history with at least 27 arrests. Court records show he was living in Duval County during a drug arrest in 2025.
“His criminal history is embarrassing,” Hardwick said, noting Barrios was out of prison on probation. “It makes me sick to my stomach.”
He made reference to this somehow involving Barrios’ girlfriend. Duval County court records show his 26-year-old girlfriend did file an injunction for protection against domestic violence against him last year and granted through October of this year. She stated he smashed her phone, threatened her with a gun and hacked her Facebook.
Hardwick said it started with dispatchers receiving multiple calls of shots fired at the Walgreens pharmacy at Florida A1A and Palm Valley Road, a route taken by thousands of golf spectators, officials and media members to access various parking lots. The location is also fewer than 1,000 feet east of the PGA Tour Global Home and PGA Tour Studios. Just south and west of those buildings is a large general parking lot for the tournament.
The Sheriff’s Office learned that Barrios had traveled there to confront the victims, who still haven’t been named. Hardwick said Barrios’ mother was helpful in the investigation.
“He’s in survival mode right now,” Hardwick said before the arrest.
The Nassau County Sheriff’s Office released a photo of Barrios and alerted residents that there would be a heavy law enforcement presence in the area of County Road 108 and Middle Road near Callahan as deputies searched for leads.
Was The Players Championship affected by a shooting?
The third round of the tournament teed off as scheduled at 8:15 a.m. March 14. The Tour provided this update:
“Due to operational considerations, gates for today’s third round will now open at 9 a.m. We have worked closely with the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office and appreciate the coordination and partnership from Sheriff Rob Hardwick and his team. Please note, tee times will remain as previously scheduled, and all on-course hospitality venues will open at 11 a.m.”
This is a developing story and will be updated accordingly.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: 2 shot and killed outside Players Championship; suspect captured
Reporting by Clayton Freeman and Scott Butler, Jacksonville Florida Times-Union / Florida Times-Union
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
