Jaydon Williams, a 21-year-old man from North Carolina, traveled to South Florida with friends for a Fourth of July vacation that ended in a fatal shooting inside a short-term rental home in Hollywood. The group had rented an Airbnb at 1923 Funston Street and spent part of the holiday period socializing in the Miami area. During the early morning hours of July 4, 2026, Williams remained at the rental with Devian Blount while other members of the group went to LIV Nightclub in Miami Beach.
Earlier, Williams and Blount had attended a yacht party off Miami with a much larger group reportedly consisting of approximately 30 to 40 people. Witnesses described the event as relaxed and said they had not seen Williams become involved in any arguments or physical confrontations. One person later told investigators that Blount had been acting strangely during the trip, although no one reported seeing an open dispute between the two before they were left together at the rental.
Williams was speaking with his girlfriend in North Carolina through FaceTime when the situation inside the home suddenly changed. According to information she provided to investigators, she heard another person accuse Williams of stealing property connected to the boat outing. Williams responded by telling the person to calm down and saying that he was drunk. Moments later, his girlfriend heard multiple gunshots, and the FaceTime connection abruptly ended. She immediately called 911 and reported what she had heard.
Hollywood police officers were dispatched to the residence at approximately 12:52 a.m. After arriving, officers heard someone calling for help from inside the home. They entered and found Williams lying face down on a bed with multiple gunshot wounds. Although critically injured, he was still alive and reportedly told officers that he did not know who had shot him. Police and emergency personnel rendered aid before Hollywood Fire Rescue transported him to Memorial Regional Hospital. He was pronounced dead at approximately 2:10 a.m.
Investigators determined that Williams had been shot several times, with wounds to his left upper arm, left elbow and the left side of his chest. Authorities alleged that Blount intentionally fired the shots and then left the rental before police arrived. The arrest allegations characterize the killing as deliberate and premeditated rather than an accidental discharge or spontaneous act of self-defense.
As detectives reconstructed the hours after the shooting, a person contacted police at about 5:30 a.m. after finding a firearm on a sidewalk near South Federal Highway and Fletcher Street. The weapon was described as a 10mm Glock consistent with the type of handgun witnesses said Blount was known to carry. The publicly available reports do not indicate that forensic testing of the recovered weapon had been completed or publicly disclosed at that stage of the investigation.
Shortly after 7 a.m., Blount returned to the Funston Street crime scene. According to the arrest account, he approached officers while shirtless and shoeless, wearing tan shorts, identified himself as “Suave,” and asked where everyone was. He also reportedly remarked that the group had not been scheduled to leave Florida until the following day. Detectives detained him as they continued interviewing witnesses and examining the circumstances surrounding Williams’ death.
A witness identified Blount as the only other person known to have been inside the Airbnb with Williams when the gunfire erupted. Hollywood police arrested Devian Blount and charged him with first-degree murder with a firearm. Prosecutors alleged that he acted with premeditated intent. Following his arrest, Blount was booked into the Broward County Main Jail and held without bond.
The charge against Blount remains an accusation, and he is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court. No trial or conviction had been reported in the available coverage, and the homicide investigation remained active as detectives continued examining the alleged accusation over stolen property, the discarded firearm and the events that took place while Williams and Blount were alone in the rental home.
