'He was a family guy': St. Martinville shooting victim's family in shock
ST. MARTINVILLE, La. (KLFY) -- Family members of the man killed at the St. Martinville Homecoming football game Friday are in shock.
The family have identified him as 24-year-old Deion'Dre Benjamin.
Deion'Dre's father, Wendell Benjamin, said he was sitting in the stands at the game when he heard the shots that he soon learned killed his son.
He said it is extremely difficult to think that Deion'Dre's 2-year-old daughter will grow up without her father.
"The hard thing about it is he has one kid, and his little girl looks up to her father a lot," Wendell said. "It's going to be hard to explain this to a two-year-old. She's no longer going to be with her father."
Courtney Dugas, Deion'Dre's cousin, says he got a call from a friend who was at the game saying that his cousin was killed. He describes Deion'Dre as a kind-hearted person who loved his family and his daughter.
"Dre was working offshore, Dre was taking good care of his daughter, he was a family guy, always was there at family events, laughing and smiling," said Dugas.
Dugas said, in addition to mourning his cousin, he sends his thoughts and prayers to students affected by the shooting.
"Sorry y'all had to go through this," Dugas said. "Keep working hard on the football field, keep working hard for the cheerleaders and homecoming court, I hope this doesn't end the celebration going forward, because before all this happened, it was a beautiful situation."
Zackyric Gardner, 22, of St. Martinville, was arrested in Texas and charged with second-degree murder. Police said said the investigation of the shooting is ongoing, and more arrests are anticipated in the case.
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