Attorneys, family of murdered Keenan HS student call out venue for ignoring safety precautions
Funeral arrangements have been announced for local teen Julian Keel who was killed in a shooting on Sunday.
Photo: Columbia Police Department
COLUMBIA, S.C. (WOLO)– According to a press release, the family of a 16-year-old rising senior at W.J. Keenan High School who died have hired lawyers to help them fight for justice.
Julian “JuJu” Keel was shot and killed in a parking lot earlier this month while attending a graduation party on Sunday, June 2.
Keel, who was 16 at the time of his death, was just two days away from his 17th birthday when more than 50 rounds rang out at graduation party outside Roll-Out Wangz Eggz Rollz and Thangz on Colonial Life Boulevard shortly after midnight.
Investigators said the three-sport Keenan High School athlete was an innocent bystander and trying to flee the scene when he was shot in the upper body area.
He later died at the hospital a short time after.
His family and lawyer’s thank local law enforcement for working to being his killers to justice but they urge that his death could have been prevented if the venue hosting the party had implemented safety precautions, according to a press release by Strom Law Firm.
“Nothing can fill the void Julian’s death has left in our lives, but we won’t rest until all of those responsible are held accountable. No mother should ever have to bury her child and we want justice so that no other family has to live through the same nightmare we have,” said Keel’s mother, Adrien Lake-Watson.
Civil Rights Attorney Bakari Sellers said Keel’s family is continuing to cooperate with the police investigation and that they are currently looking into all additional avenues including a possible civil lawsuit.
“Whether it’s a concert or a graduation party, we see this time and time again as venues owners put lives at risk and ignore the most basic safety and security measures because it stands between them and a profit. They don’t care what happens as long as the check clears and innocents like Julian Keel pay the price,” said Sellers.
