COLUMBIA, SC - The family of Julian “JuJu” Keel, the 16-year-old rising senior at W.J. Keenan High School who was shot and killed earlier this month while attending a graduation party at a parking lot venue, have hired attorneys with Strom Law Firm, including renowned civil rights attorney Bakari Sellers, to help them fight for justice after for killing has left the entire community reeling.
A three-sport athlete at Keenan, Keel was just two days away from his 17th birthday when more than 50 rounds were fired from at least four different guns at a graduation party outside Roll-Out Wangz Eggz Rollz and Thangz on Colonial Life Boulevard shortly after midnight on Sunday, June 2. An innocent bystander, Keel was trying to flee when one of the rounds struck him in the upper body. He died at the hospital a short time later.
While thanking local law enforcement including Columbia Police Chief W. H. ‘Skip’ Holbrook and Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott for their hard work and commitment in bringing Keel’s killers to justice, they argue that his death could have easily been prevented if the venue hosting the graduation party had bothered to implement some simple safety precautions.
“Nothing can fill the void Julian’s death has left in our lives,” said Keel’s mother, Adrien Lake-Watson. “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.”
“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,” said Sellers. “They don’t care what happens as long as the check clears and innocents like Julian Keel pay the price.”
Sellers say Keel's family continues to fully cooperate with the police investigation and that they are currently looking into all additional avenues including a possible civil lawsuit.
