The Osceola County Sheriff’s Office reported Friday that the suspect killed in a shooting Thursday night at the Walmart on Cypress Parkway had just turned 16 on Dec. 30.
Jairus Eroge Jones, who lived in Poinciana, was one of three individuals involved in an incident Thursday at the store around 7:45 p.m., when gunshots rang out at the store.
According to Sheriff Chris Blackmon, the store’s loss prevention officer and off-duty Sheriff ’s Deputy Terrence Blackmon (no relation to Sheriff Blackmon) attempted to meet the three subjects at the front of the store after staff determined they had concealed merchandise on their persons.
The three fled in a different direction, and the suspect later identified as Jones ran through the store toward other shoppers after brandishing a gun. After Blackmon reportedly commanded him to stop, the deputy fired on and fatality shot the teen.
The Sheriff’s Office also said detectives “identified and accounted for” the other two male subjects— who have not been arrested as investigators determine their role in the incident. Detectives have identified one of the men, in his 20s, as the adult brother of the deceased, and the other is a teenage friend; police say they ran outside of the store when the shooting occurred.
The Sheriff's Office did release less than 10 seconds of body-cam footage of Deputy Blackmon's chasing the armed suspect. Since it depicts the death of a minor, state statute precludes the full video being shared without extensive law enforcement and legal review.
Videos posted by witnesses to social media show at least two other armed bystanders provided the off -duty deputy covers. According to Walmart policy, shoppers who can lawful carry a firearm may carry it concealed but are not to “open-carry” a weapon.
Since the incident is an officer-involved shooting, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement is now heading up the investigation. Sheriff’s spokesperson Kim Montes said body-worn cameras and other public records from the incident will be available “once FDLE is at a certain point in their investigation.”
