Johnny Otis Porter Jr., a 48-year-old Black man, died on May 27, 2026, after an early-morning shooting at a residence in the 800 block of Justice Drive in Tampa, Florida, in the Carrollwood area. The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office said its 911 Dispatch Center received a call about a shooting at 5:21 a.m., sending deputies to the home while the neighborhood was just beginning to wake up.
When deputies arrived, they found Porter dead inside or at the residence with an apparent
gunshot wound. The shooting was treated as a fatal shooting investigation from the start, but officials released only limited details about what happened before the gunfire. Online memorial information later identified him by name as Johnny Otis Porter and described his death as a loss to gun violence in Tampa on May 27, 2026.
The scene unfolded in what nearby residents described as a usually quiet neighborhood. One resident said the violence was surprising because nothing like it had happened there before, while another longtime resident expressed shock at someone losing their life there. Authorities did not publicly release a motive, a detailed timeline of events inside the home, or the circumstances that led to the shooting.
As of the available reports, no arrests had been made. The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office said all individuals involved had been accounted for, but no suspect was publicly named, and officials did not announce charges against anyone. The case remained active and ongoing, with the sheriff’s office saying additional updates would be provided if more information became available.
