In the early morning hours of a Saturday in Colorado Springs, a burst of violence shattered the atmosphere at The Social, a nightclub located near North Academy Boulevard and Carefree Circle. Shortly before 2 a.m., chaos erupted when gunfire rang out, leaving patrons scrambling for safety. When Colorado Springs police officers arrived at the scene, they discovered a scene of carnage with a woman and a man suffering from gunshot wounds.
Both were immediately transported to a local hospital for medical attention.
The young woman, identified as 19-year-old La Jayzia Cannon of Colorado Springs, tragically succumbed to her injuries and was pronounced dead. The male victim who was found with her was reported to be in critical condition. Later, another man presented himself at the hospital with a gunshot wound sustained in the same incident. The case was quickly classified as a homicide investigation as authorities began the arduous task of piecing together the events that led to the deadly shooting.
The investigation led to a swift arrest in the case. On August 3, 2019, Colorado Springs Police Department arrested 23-year-old Gary McCallister Jr., of Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. He was taken into custody in Colorado Springs and subsequently booked into the El Paso County Criminal Justice Center. McCallister was charged with Murder in the Second Degree in connection with the death of La Jayzia Cannon. While an arrest was made, police did not immediately release information regarding a potential motive or the specific circumstances that precipitated the shooting inside the nightclub. The incident left two other men injured, one critically, casting a somber shadow over the community.
