‘I am God’: Gainesville man shot in chest through a Bible during violent rampage
https://www.wcjb.com/2024/03/29/i-a...ot-chest-through-bible-during-violent-rampage
MELROSE, Fla. (WCJB) - A man from Gainesville was shot multiple times in the chest, through a Bible, in a Stand Your Ground shooting after sheriff’s deputies say he harmed his baby and attacked bystanders.
Putnam County Sheriff’s Office officials say Jason Kaercher, 26, of Gainesville, began behaving erratically earlier this week. On Thursday, relatives took his 3-month-old baby to a home in Melrose off State Road 21 near the elementary school. Kaercher met with the family and a Department of Children and Families (DCF) case manager.
Kaercher took his wife and baby outside to get some air and moments later the case manager heard screaming. Kaercher was squeezing the baby hard enough to turn the child blue. He then began walking toward State Road 21 saying he was “God” while holding the baby and a Bible.
A family member grabbed a shovel and tried to convince him to release the baby. He then laid down on the roadway on top of the child and Bible. Eventually, he got up and the family member grabbed the baby.
Several vehicles, including a work crew, stopped on the road to avoid hitting him. The crew attempted to hold him down and the family member dropped the shovel. Kaercher broke free and grabbed the shovel.
He then jumped on top of a vehicle and began hitting and cracking the windshield. He approached a man in a truck, opened the door, and began beating the man with the shovel, breaking his arm. The shovel then broke and Kaercher discarded it. Another person grabbed the shovel and hit him.
The driver was then able to grab his gun to defend himself. As Kaecher approached him, holding the Bible, the driver fired multiple times, striking him in the chest through the book.