A deadly shooting unfolded on May 22, 2024, in the parking lot of North Marion Middle School in Citra, Florida, during an end-of-the-school-year awards ceremony. The victim, 32-year-old Joseph James Juarez Coles, was shot and killed by 34-year-old Roderick Kelvin Watson Jr. The altercation grew out of a custody dispute involving Coles, his ex-partner, and that ex-partner’s fiancée, Watson; all three adults had gathered at the school for the ceremony.

Witnesses said the argument escalated and Watson grabbed Coles by the back of the neck and shot him multiple times at close range. Coles was unarmed and suffered six gunshot wounds to the abdomen, under the armpit, right bicep, collar bone, middle back, and upper back. After the shooting, Watson allegedly struck Coles’s lifeless body with his fists, then sat on a nearby bench and surrendered to deputies, admitting he was the shooter but claiming self-defense. Deputies and witnesses reported evidence that contradicted that claim.

Watson was booked into the Marion County Jail on a charge of second-degree murder with a firearm and was being held without bond; during his May 24, 2024 court appearance he again smiled as the judge denied bond. No students were involved, but the community has been left heartbroken by the killing at a school event.

If anyone witnessed the incident or has information about the custody dispute that preceded it, please come forward.