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A Friend Shot And Killed: Things Were Going To Get Better For Us

Wilson Sayre
/
WLRN
Deandre Benjamin during his internship at WLRN.

Deandre Benjamin was hanging out with friends in the courtyard of an apartment building in Overtown, Miami. Around 6 p.m. someone in a black car drove up and sprayed the area with bullets.

Benjamin was 17 at the time. His friend Julian Bryant—“Juju”—was also shot. Juju was standing right next to Benjamin and later died. Juju was 17.

Deandre Benjamin, who goes by his artist name Jus Dre, spoke about what happened the night of the shooting.

    

An edited excerpt of the conversation with Benjamin:

I’m Jus’ Dre, I do music and spoken word. Just another young black man just trying to make it.

It happened Dec. 14, 2014, Overtown Miami. Literally everything happened so fast.

I was outside, I was going to head to the store. I see my homeboy, Juju, they was standing on the corner [when] everything went off: just a normal drive-by shooting.

What’s going through my mind, honestly, was is everybody else all right and [that] my mama can’t find out about this.

As soon as the shots was done I went to check myself, like was there any main arteries or anything big [hit]. If I know that I’m checking myself, that means I’m straight.

I felt the pain on the way to the hospital with the bumpy ride in the ambulance. The ambulance people was poking me in my arms, they couldn't find my vein. So, they sticking me, then it’s a bumpy ride, they speeding, turning all type of corners. That’s what made me wake up to be like “man, I’m actually shot.”

I’m looking at my foot, there’s nothing but blood coming out … [the bullet] went straight through the foot, it went completely through.

I had bullets miss my head, a bullet went through my pants, right by my thigh. So, yeah, I’m blessed.

Juju, he was in ICU on life support. It wasn’t looking too good for him. It was at a point where they was like they have to take him off. I was still in the hospital, I think it was my second day, that morning they came and gave me the news. Honestly, I take the good from him, the positive traits that he had, the positive characteristics that he had. I keep the memories that I do have with him, I keep them personal with me, and I just take it and smile and I move on.

I started tell myself, a lot of things got to change. I was always brought up on it’s not what you do, it’s how you do it, it’s not where you go, it’s how you get there. And I just felt like I tried that way of getting there and it wasn’t bringing producing [anything] positive for me. If I could put all that same determination [that I put into] the streets, I could do that to staying positive, my music.

Please be aware there is some language in the track that some may find offensive.

That’s my way of expressing myself, my emotions, I could express everything to let everybody know this is what’s going on, this is what’s really happening.

A lot of things have got to change because I promised my homeboy that things are going to get better for us.

This is part four in a WLRN series that looks at gun violence affecting children and teens.

Part One: Burying 6-Year Old King Carter: This Is Not Normal

Part Two: Time Doesn't Heal This Wound

Part Three: The Day After A 15-Year-Old Is Killed

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