On February 4, 2025, at approximately 5:58 p.m., officers from the Lakeland Police Department responded to a reported shooting at a mobile home park located in the 2900 block of New Tampa Highway in Lakeland, Florida. Upon arrival, they discovered that Joseph Gray, a 49-year-old white male resident of Lakeland, had sustained multiple gunshot wounds to his upper torso. Emergency responders transported Mr. Gray to Lakeland Regional Health, where he was pronounced dead shortly thereafter.
Investigations revealed that the assailant was Mr. Gray's brother-in-law, 40-year-old Jermaine Harrison, also a resident of Lakeland. According to statements from Mr. Gray's wife, who is Mr. Harrison's sister, Mr. Harrison had been exhibiting erratic behavior in the week leading up to the incident, and she suspected he was under the influence of illegal narcotics. On the day of the shooting, Mr. Harrison arrived at the Gray residence around 4:00 p.m., inquiring about mail he was expecting. While his sister searched for the mailbox key, Mr. Harrison allegedly pointed a firearm at her and discharged a shot into a nearby laundry hamper. He then turned the weapon on Mr. Gray, shooting him multiple times in the chest.
Following the shooting, Mr. Harrison fled to a neighboring mobile home within the same park. There, he reportedly forced entry and threatened the female occupant with a firearm, warning her against alerting authorities. As law enforcement officers approached the scene, the woman managed to escape safely. The police secured the area and, after several hours, successfully apprehended Mr. Harrison without further incident at approximately 1:27 a.m. on February 5, 2025.([ABC Action News Tampa Bay
Mr. Harrison, a convicted felon with prior charges in Pasco and Polk Counties—including possession of cocaine and armed burglary—was charged with first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, armed burglary of an occupied dwelling, armed kidnapping, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. This tragic event marked Lakeland's first homicide of 2025, ending a period without murders in the city.([ABC Action News Tampa Bay
