Two killed, including 15-year-old, outside party for Tampa teens

TAMPA (FOX 13) - A 15-year-old girl and a 25-year-old man were shot and killed by security guards outside a teenage warehouse party on Monday night. 

Julissa Jackson, 15, gave birth to a son two months ago, according to family members. They said the teen was excited about becoming a mother and had turned her life around.

"She used to live a different life, and since she got pregnant, it was different. Everybody saw the change in her," said one of Jackson's cousins outside her great-grandmother's home on Tuesday.

Jackson wanted to celebrate the new year with a cousin and friends. They went to a teenage party in a warehouse at the Store-ette facility near the intersection of North 50th Street and East Clifton Street on New Year’s Day, January 1.

The warehouse, known as "The Club," regularly hosts teen parties from 8 p.m. to midnight on weekends, according to deputies.

A family friend, Jyhaad Grant, 25, gave Jackson a ride to the party.

"He actually grew up with the [Jackson] family, and they asked him to take them to the party. I guess he ended up staying there with them, since he was already there," said Angel Madison, 25, Grant's girlfriend and mother of his 2-month-old daughter.

Madison said she became worried when Grant never returned home. Hours later, after driving around with her mother searching for him, she learned that Grant and Jackson were shot and killed inside his vehicle by security guards at The Club.

"You wouldn't think the security guard would do that, you know. They're there to protect the people at the club," said Johneisha Jackson, Jackson's mother.

According to detectives with the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, the teen party was shut down around 10:45 p.m. due to multiple flights.  As the nearly 200 partygoers left the warehouse, security guards said they heard fireworks, and then gunshots. 

The security guards said they saw gunshots coming from Grant’s car. They fired back out of fear for their lives, according to investigators.

"It's like different stories. Was he shooting at you? Was he not? Was he throwing firecrackers? I don't know," said Madison.

According to Madison, Grant was on probation. He was not supposed to have a gun. Hillsborough County arrest reports show Grant has faced charges in the past for carrying a concealed firearm and resisting arrest with violence, among other charges.

Madison said all that was in the past. Grant was working to create a better future for his newborn daughter.

"You know how people get low in life? He can't find a job, he can't make any money, so he did what he had to do, but now he had a job. He actually went to school to be a pharmacy tech. He was getting right," explained Madison.

The security guards -- Keyon Williams, 28, and Connor Harm, 18 -- were both licensed security guards working for Eagle One Security Force, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, and had proper permits for firearms.

FOX 13 reached out to the company for comment, but has not yet gotten a response.

Neither Williams nor Harm is facing charges, according to deputies. An investigation into the shooting is ongoing.