Police say a BB gun projectile struck Shawn Johnson near the armpit and injured a lung during backyard target shooting.
FORT PIERCE, Fla. — A 36-year-old man has been charged with manslaughter after police say he fired a BB gun toward 34-year-old Shawn Johnson during backyard target shooting, causing an injury that led to Johnson’s death at a hospital.
Jabari Cowart was arrested after the Aug. 22 shooting in the 2900 block of Avenue G. Fort Pierce police said a group of men had been shooting a BB gun at trees when Cowart asked to use it. Investigators said Cowart then pointed the gun in Johnson’s direction and fired. Johnson collapsed shortly afterward. Police said the circumstances remain under investigation and the case is still active.
Officers were called to the Avenue G address at about 8 p.m. following a report of a gunshot victim. Police found Johnson injured and took him to Lawnwood Hospital, where he later died. A probable cause affidavit described a puncture wound near Johnson’s right armpit that investigators believed was consistent with a projectile from the BB gun.
According to the affidavit, paramedics treating Johnson determined that blood was collecting in his lungs and believed the projectile had entered a lung, making his condition life-threatening. Johnson was rushed to the hospital but could not be saved. The public reports reviewed in the case did not include a separate final medical examiner’s determination, so the precise formal cause and manner of death have not been independently confirmed beyond the investigative account.
Witnesses gave investigators an account that differed from Cowart’s initial explanation, according to the affidavit. They said Cowart, Johnson and two other men had been outside shooting at trees when Cowart asked to handle the BB gun. After receiving it, witnesses said, Cowart turned toward Johnson and pulled the trigger. Johnson walked away after being struck before eventually collapsing, according to investigators.
Cowart told detectives that Johnson had accidentally shot himself, according to the affidavit. Investigators questioned that account because of the length of the BB gun’s rifle-style barrel and the location of Johnson’s wound. Police wrote that they believed the physical circumstances made a self-inflicted injury in that area unlikely. The competing account is part of the prosecution’s allegations and has not been tested at trial.
Fort Pierce police Maj. Michael Santiago told Treasure Coast Newspapers that Cowart and Johnson knew each other and that the other people at the gathering were also known to one another. Santiago said investigators had found no indication of an argument before the shooting. He characterized the group’s activity with the BB gun as reckless and said police recovered the gun as part of the investigation.
Detectives later confronted Cowart with the witness statements, according to the probable cause affidavit described by Law&Crime. Investigators said he continued to maintain that Johnson had shot himself. Cowart eventually asked for an attorney, and detectives ended the interview. His statements and the witness accounts remain allegations contained in the investigative record rather than findings made by a judge or jury.
Police charged Cowart with manslaughter and booked him into the St. Lucie County Jail after the shooting. Local reports said bond was set at $50,000. A manslaughter charge is an accusation, and Cowart has not been convicted in Johnson’s death. The sources reviewed did not identify a confirmed date for his next court appearance.
The case remains under investigation by the Fort Pierce Police Department. Authorities have not publicly announced additional charges or a final court resolution, and Cowart’s manslaughter case will proceed through the criminal justice system as prosecutors review the evidence surrounding Johnson’s death.
Author note: Last updated August 27, 2026.