In the early hours of March 13, 2022, the life of 30-year-old Karysma Jenkins, a Black/African American female from Reno, Nevada, was tragically cut short by an act of gun violence. Jenkins was on a party bus with a group of about 15 people celebrating a birthday. The group had made several stops in downtown Reno before ending up outside the Peppermint Hippo Strip Club.
As some members of the party got off the bus, a man named Julian Hamilton approached the vehicle and opened fire.
The shooting was not random. Hamilton recognized another person on the bus from a previous altercation a few years prior where Hamilton himself had been shot. Having recently been released from prison after serving 48 months for that prior incident, Hamilton had been contemplating revenge. When he saw the individual on the bus, he seized the opportunity to ambush the group.
Karysma Jenkins was an unintended victim in this act of vengeance. She was sitting on the bus in front of the intended target when the shots rang out. Moments before the shooting, she had expressed to the bus driver that she wished she had stayed home with her daughter and was ready to go home. The party bus transported three gunshot victims, including Jenkins, to Renown Medical Center. Tragically, Jenkins was declared dead upon arrival. Another victim suffered a gunshot wound to his femoral artery and required surgery, while a third was treated for a gunshot wound to his leg.
The Reno Police Department swiftly investigated the shooting, gathering evidence and witness statements that led them to identify Julian Hamilton as the suspect. He was subsequently arrested. At his sentencing, the prosecution argued that this was an aggravated first-degree murder committed by a violent career criminal. Jenkins' mother, sister, and daughter spoke powerfully, asking the judge to ensure Hamilton would not have the opportunity to harm another family. Hamilton was sentenced to an aggregate of 42 to 108 years in prison for first-degree murder with a deadly weapon enhancement, two counts of battery with a deadly weapon causing substantial bodily harm, and being a felon in possession of a firearm.
