Breanna Lynn Jones, 23, was fatally shot in Tampa on the morning of May 3, 2024. The shooting occurred about 10:30 a.m. near Nebraska Avenue and 26th Avenue after multiple ShotSpotter alerts and 911 calls for gunfire. Officers found Breanna and 41-year-old Fredrick J. Russell with gunshot wounds; both died at the scene despite life-saving efforts. Investigators say the shooting grew out of an argument among people who knew one another. Russell was reportedly killed while trying to protect Breanna, and a third woman was targeted but not hit.

Tampa police arrested 37-year-old Whitney Newsome near East 25th Avenue and North 33rd Street early the next morning. He was charged with two counts of murder, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and booked into Orient Road Jail. Breanna’s stepmother learned of the killing while returning from visiting Breanna’s husband, Chris Jones, who is incarcerated. Community members remember Breanna as a young woman whose life was cut tragically short.

If anyone knew Breanna or has information about the events near Nebraska and 26th avenues that morning, please come forward.