Inside the well-kempt garage of Charles DuBose sits a pristine Harley Davidson, black cherry in colour — his prized possession. But it hasn't been ridden for a while, and a thickening layer of dust has settled onto its shiny lacquer.
The motorcycle hasn't been touched since January, and DuBose might never touch it again. Doing so would mean moving on, disturbing the carefully preserved handprints outlined in the dust. They belong to his grandson Deshon, who was slaughtered in a senseless shooting at a gas station in January.
Deshon, 13, had been an honour roll student at his school, heavily involved with community service. He also dreamed of the day he would be old enough to ride up front on the Harley — he had been relegated to the backseat until it was safe enough for him to sit up front.
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Deshon was smart, loved serving his community and wanted to be an engineer and a pastor when he grew up (GoFundMe)On January 21, 2023, Deshon was gunned down, hit by flying bullets that weren't intended for him after a fight broke out at a gas station. He and his friends had been skating at the Cascade Family Skating rink in Atlanta for a teen night and were just getting ready to leave. They had decided to go to the station next door for a treat when the fighting broke out and shots were fired.
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Two bullets pierced Deshon's back, critically wounding him, the police told CNN. He was rushed to the intensive care unit at a local hospital but died shortly thereafter.
Deshon had just celebrated his 13th birthday in November, just two months prior, and had been wearing the roller skates Charles had given him for Christmas — Charles was like his father figure, as he grew up in a single-mother household with two siblings.
Deshon was shot twice in the back and later died of his wounds at the hospital (WXIA)"The hardest part is him never becoming the man we know he could be," Charles told the outlet. Deshon had wanted to be an engineer and a pastor, just like his grandfather before him, and he had dedicated his life to his community. All those dreams were ripped away from him by two bullets.
Melissa Cruz, a family friend, set up a GoFundMe page for Deshon's family to help with the cost of the funeral and medical bills and to help them get through their grief. It has raised just over $3,300 of its $15,000 goal.
Cruz described Deshon as "a respectful, well-mannered leader" who was "well-known and never in a negative light." He would carry groceries for strangers, and she said he "was never one to shy away from helping anyone in need, whether he knew them or not."
Deshon was excited to ride in the front seat of his grandfather's Harley but never got to (CNN)The mourners who lined up to honour Deshon at his funeral were so many that some had to be turned away, Charles said. Charlett, his mother, told CNN that she's still not over her baby's death nearly a year later. The sight of other kids walking to school makes her heart ache as she yearns to see what kind of man Deshon would have become.
Deshon's older sister Maya said she's navigating life without him. She told CNN that she sleeps in her brother's room and that at night, she feels him telling her, "Maya, I'm OK. I'm OK." She said she was in academic competition with him to see whether or not it would be him or her that went to college first despite her being five years older than him, and she said she went in the fall to honour his legacy after she graduated high school this spring.
Now, as November 20, what would have been Deshon's 14th birthday, rolls around, the family is at a loss for what to do to celebrate and how they'll be able to get through it and Thanksgiving without him. And Charles' motorcycle still sits in his garage, collecting dust, preserving his late grandson's fingerprints.
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