{"id":101946,"date":"2026-01-01T04:07:27","date_gmt":"2026-01-01T04:07:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/101946\/"},"modified":"2026-01-01T04:07:27","modified_gmt":"2026-01-01T04:07:27","slug":"4-central-florida-teens-die-in-4-separate-shootings-this-christmas-who-are-they-what-we-know","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/101946\/","title":{"rendered":"4 Central Florida teens die in 4 separate shootings this Christmas: Who are they, what we know"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In the days surrounding Christmas this year, four young lives were lost due to gun violence.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Four teenagers \u2013 three in Orange County and one in Volusia County \u2013 died in the span of five days, from Dec. 24 to Dec. 28.\u00a0<\/p>\n

These teens \u2013 three boys and one girl, ages 13 to 17, were shot and killed.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Dig deeper:<\/p>\n

Here’s what we know about the teens who died and the circumstances surrounding their deaths:\u00a0<\/p>\n

Jamar Jerome, 17 <\/p>\n

On Dec. 24, around 2:30 p.m., Orange County deputies responded to a condo complex on PGA Boulevard in Orlando, finding Jamar Jerome, 17, who was shot. Deputies said Jerome died on the scene.\u00a0<\/p>\n

During the sheriff’s office’s investigation, deputies attempted to serve a DNA warrant on Dec. 26 to a suspect in connection to the Christmas Eve homicide. While attempting to serve the warrant, a man \u2013 described to be in his 20s \u2013 who was with the homicide suspect, shot at deputies and hit one of the sheriff’s office’s unmarked vehicles, Sheriff John Mina said in a Dec. 27 press conference. An OCSO deputy returned fire, hitting the shooter<\/a>.\u00a0
\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\" <\/p>\n

The deputy who fired his gun is on temporary, paid administrative leave pending an investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the sheriff’s office said. The shooter was transported to the hospital and underwent surgery. His condition is not known at this time.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Deputies also detained the homicide suspect \u2013 who was also armed, the sheriff’s office said. It’s not known if he was charged in connection to the Dec. 24 homicide on PGA Boulevard.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Emony Nicole Jackson, 13 <\/p>\n

On Dec. 25, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office responded to the Pine Hills neighborhood regarding the shooting of a teen girl<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Emony Nicole Jackson, 13, was located and transported to the hospital, where she later died, authorities said. Jackson, who was described by family as a bubbly, outgoing social butterfly, was counting down the days until she was able to try out for her school’s cheerleading team before she died on Christmas Day.\u00a0<\/p>\n

OCSO said a 15-year-old boy approached deputies at the scene and told them he was “responsible for the shooting” and that it was “accidental,” according to the sheriff\u2019s office. The teen was arrested and faces a charge of manslaughter, deputies said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\" <\/p>\n

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that unintentional injury is the top cause of death for children ages 1 to 17, and firearms are a leading injury method<\/a>. Thirty-three percent of the deaths identified were of children ages 11 to 15 years old, the CDC said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

However, Jackson’s cousin, told FOX 35 they don’t believe her death was an accident<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“You can\u2019t wrap your head around it,” said Tramaine Henderson, Jackson\u2019s cousin. “The only thing that comes to your mind is how a 15-year-old gets access to a gun. Where are the adults or guardians who are supposed to be monitoring their children?”<\/p>\n

It’s not known how or if Jackson and the suspect knew each other.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Brenden Watkins, 17 <\/p>\n

Breden Watkins, 17, was found on El Campo Avenue in Deltona with multiple gunshot wounds on Dec. 25. Deputies said despite attempting life-measures, Watkins died at the scene.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Though the investigation is ongoing, deputies said it appears the shooting may have taken place during an attempted robbery. At this time, investigators are pursuing leads, but a suspect has not been publicly identified at this time.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Lil’raylin Harrison, 17 <\/p>\n

Lil’raylin Harrison, 17, was a football player at Dr. Phillips High School, who was described by his coach as a “good kid” with a “bubbly personality” and “peaceful spirit.”\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

Harrison died on Sunday, Dec. 28, after he was shot near Orlando’s Holden Heights neighborhood. Deputies responded to the 1500 block of 26th Street around 9 p.m. after reports of a shooting. Harrison was taken to a hospital where he later died, according to the sheriff’s office.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Harrison\u2019s former coach described him as a talented athlete and an even better person, saying his death has left classmates, teammates and the school community grieving.<\/p>\n

\"\" <\/p>\n

One of his high school coaches, Boris Jackson said he met Harrison when he was just eight years old and watched him grow over the years.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Harrison played linebacker, though his coaching staff and teammates fondly remember a 46-yard touchdown he scored while playing running back.<\/p>\n

“Our offensive coordinator just randomly [said] \u2018I need a running back.\u2019 And [Harrison] said, \u2018Coach, I’ll do it.”<\/p>\n

“We have a lot of students right now that (are) gonna struggle with this loss,” Jackson said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Source: Information in this story was gathered from the Orange County Sheriff’s Office and previous FOX 35 reporting.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Crime and Public Safety<\/a>Orange County News<\/a>Volusia County News<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In the days surrounding Christmas this year, four young lives were lost due to gun violence.\u00a0 Four teenagers…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":101947,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[630,47,28,30,29,115,1335,628,2261],"class_list":{"0":"post-101946","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-florida","8":"tag-crime-publicsafety","9":"tag-fl","10":"tag-florida","11":"tag-florida-headlines","12":"tag-florida-news","13":"tag-news","14":"tag-orange-county","15":"tag-us","16":"tag-volusia-county"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101946","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=101946"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101946\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/101947"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=101946"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=101946"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=101946"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}