LAKELAND, Fla. — The Lakeland Police Department says they're investigating a shooting that killed one man and critically injured another woman in the parking lot of a club.
The shooting reportedly happened just before 2 a.m. on Saturday at the Jade Fox Lounge.
Speaking to 10 Tampa Bay, family and friends identified the man killed as 25-year-old Raheem Bacon – a local rapper who was celebrating the release of his latest mixtape that night. The family says they never expected that party to end with him losing his life.
"It's a grief I've never felt before," his aunt Elecia Crawford Sullivan said.
The family's words don’t come easy.
"You never want to bury your nephew. We should be having homegoing celebrations for our 80-year-old aunts and uncles," Sullivan said.
Raheem Bacon was talented and a loving father of two. At just 25 years old, he was taken to a party to celebrate his music.
A video posted on Snapchat shows the moments before the shooting. Raheem’s aunt was one of the first people to get a call.
"His mom called me at 1:30, she said Raheem was shot," Sullivan said.
Isaac Harris had just shown up to the club when he saw Raheem trying to run away when he fell in front of his car.
"I wasn't just gonna sit here look at somebody suffering, you know," Harris said. "I just drove over a curve and took off."
Harris said he ran red lights to try and save Raheem’s life. They made it to Lakeland Regional Hospital, but Raheem didn’t survive.
"We're Raheem’s family, but we didn’t make it. We couldn’t save him," Harris said.
Jamilah Johnson, 23, was arrested in connection to the shooting, but police haven’t identified a shooter. They say a gun stolen in 2015 was recovered at the scene.
"I know an arrest has been made but at the end of the day, I don't feel vengeance, I don't feel anything," Harris said. "I just feel like nothing. Nobody could say or do that what happened could justify the action. Nothing justifies you taking someone else's life."
The 23-year-old arrested is still in jail and not eligible for bond after being charged with being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm. The family says they are hoping the charge will be upgraded.