LeRoy Jackson III spent the weekend trying to find words for the unspeakable.
His two great-nieces — Tiana Rae Watts, 2, and Jaliyah Katherine Watts, 11 months — were shot and killed by their father in their Orange County apartment on Friday evening. Their mother, Jasmine Olivia Jackson, 21, who is LeRoy Jackson’s niece, was nearby but uninjured.
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“Words can’t describe the emotional distress that we’re all in,” he said. “Just taking it one day at a time. I know it’s going to be a long recovery for my niece, and I think that’s the most challenging part for all of us.”
Jasmine’s partner, and the little girls’ father, Bryant Darrell Watts, 33, died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office. Watts had a criminal records and was arrested in February on a domestic violence warrant from November 2025, according to court records. That case was still ongoing, the records show. A hearing was scheduled for June 23.
“I would’ve never thought anything like this would’ve ever happened,” Jackson said.
Jackson, 45, of Oviedo, helped organize a GoFundMe to help pay for funeral arrangements, counseling and moving costs. The family raised more than $8,000 over the weekend.
He and other relatives are still in shock, he said during a phone interview Monday. He recalled memories of Tiana “always smiling” and Jaliyah’s “distinct personality.”
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The family is hosting a community candlelight vigil at the apartment complex where the shootings took place, Palmetto at Lakeside at 4444 South Rio Grande Ave at 7:30 p.m. Thursday.
LeRoy Jackson said Jasmine always identified her kids online by heart emojis — a purple heart for Tiana and a pink heart for Jaliyah. LeRoy encouraged community members to wear purple and pink if attending, he said.
The Jackson family is planning the funeral for June 28, though details are still being worked out, he said.
Deputies responded to the apartment complex late Friday after a report of a man with a gun who had chased a woman. They found the woman uninjured, but she told deputies she feared for her children’s safety. When officers approached the apartment, they heard several gunshots. When they entered the until, the found the two girls. Both were taken to a hospital but died of their injuries. Watts was also found in the apartment.
Watts was arrested in 2014 for possessing a Glock 9 mm handgun, according to Orange County court records. The judge in the case agreed to withhold adjudication, if Watts complied with terms of his 24 months of probation.
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