ORLANDO, Fla. – Some students are heading back to school with a heavy heart after a 13-year-old was shot and killed over winter break.
According to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, 13-year-old Emony Jackson was shot and killed inside a home on Okada Court on Christmas Day.
Deputies arrested a 15-year-old boy who they say admitted to firing the gun but claimed the shooting was accidental. He is now facing a manslaughter charge.
“I don’t think it was accidental,” Tramaine Henderson said. “I would like accountability and justice for all parties — from him, the guardian, and the house it happened at. He wasn’t old enough to purchase a gun, so it had to come from somewhere.”
Emony’s cousin, Tramaine Henderson, told News 6 after the shooting that her family is struggling to cope with the loss as the little girl was at another cousin’s house.
“I don’t think Christmas will ever be the same,” Henderson said.
Emony attended Robinswood Middle School in Orlando. The eighth grader was supposed to return to school on Tuesday. To help her classmates cope with her death, the school will be providing grief counselors this week.
Emony’s death is one of at least three fatal teen shootings reported in Orange County during Christmas week.
On Christmas Eve, deputies say a 17-year-old was shot and killed near a condominium complex along PGA Boulevard near Oak Ridge. Then, on the Sunday after Christmas, a 16-year-old was shot on 26th Street near Rio Grande Avenue and later died from their injuries.
“It’s just sad that families have to face this, especially during the holidays when families are supposed to be together,” Henderson said.
All three shootings remain under investigation by the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.