HOUSTON – More than a year after a mass shooting at an unpermitted Houston party venue left two teenagers dead and four others wounded, police have arrested and charged a suspect in the case.
Jakorian Mouton, 19, has been charged with capital murder and tampering with evidence in connection with the Dec. 14, 2024, shooting.
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Officials confirmed that Mouton is being held in the Jefferson County Jail following his arrest Tuesday by officers with the Beaumont Police Department and members of the Southeast Texas Violent Crime Task Force.
OUR FIRST REPORT: 2 teens dead, 4 others hurt in mass shooting at ‘pop-up’ party in North Houston
The shooting happened at The Curfew Club, a makeshift party venue operating inside a commercial building at 10126 Jensen Drive at the time, according to the Houston Police Department.
Shots rang out at around 11:20 p.m. during an event advertised on social media as a teen club. When officers arrived, they found hundreds of juveniles and young adults fleeing the venue.
Six people were struck by gunfire.
16-year-old Randle King was pronounced dead at the scene. Fourteen-year-old A’Ziria Bankhead was transported to Texas Children’s Hospital, where she later died from her injuries.
Four additional female victims were hospitalized with gunshot wounds. One of the injured victims was reported to be just 13 years old.
According to investigators, multiple witnesses reported seeing a tall, thin male dressed in all black clothing, wearing a black hooded sweatshirt and face mask, firing a handgun into the crowd before fleeing.
Detectives later identified Mouton as the suspected gunman. The investigation remains ongoing.
Investigation into ‘Teen Club’
At the time of the shooting, Houston police described The Curfew Club as a “pop-up club” operating out of a vacant commercial building on Houston’s north side.
The case drew widespread attention after city officials revealed the venue was operating without a valid certificate of occupancy.
According to Houston Public Works, inspectors visited the building days after the shooting and determined the club was operating illegally.
City records showed the last application for a certificate of occupancy was filed in October 2023. An inspection conducted in February 2024 identified deficiencies that needed to be corrected, but the project became inactive after the issues were not addressed.
MORE INFO: Unlicensed Houston teen club should never have opened, city officials say after deadly shooting
Officials posted a notice on the building shortly after the shooting and gave operators seven days to respond.
Witnesses told KPRC 2 that attendees were charged a cover fee to enter the event and an additional fee for guests who brought their own alcohol. Because the venue did not sell alcohol, it was not required to have a permit from the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission.
Investigators said the event had been organized through social media, making the investigation more challenging.
“Since they’re not under any regulations, which is what causes the problems with these types of events with no regulations, there’s nothing guarding it,” HPD Assistant Chief Luis Menendez said in the days following the shooting.
Houston Mayor John Whitmire also responded to the scene and called the shooting a preventable tragedy.
“It’s a tragedy. I feel for the families. We ought to keep them in our prayers. We lost some young people tonight that was very preventable, if they didn’t come to locations such as this,” Whitmire said.
Victims’ Family Speak Out
The shooting devastated the families of the victims.
King’s mother previously told KPRC 2 that her son, an aspiring singer and rap artist, had attended the event to perform live.
“He just always loved music, so he decided to make that his career,” she said.
According to his mother, King never got the opportunity to take the stage before gunfire erupted.
“Nothing that I add or say is going to bring my son back. He is my only son. My baby,” she said.