And Tucker's body was found today, the body of 25-year-old Jerome Bennett was found motionless in his yard on Friday night.
Bennett had been shot several times for reasons his family still can't fathom because he was no gang man - he had been a special needs student with an intellectual disability. But that didn't mean he wasn't high functioning - Bennett had a young child, a job, and loved ones.
And now, as they are getting ready to bury him, one of his past teachers who has been a major support throughout his life explained that he might have been seeking friendship in the wrong place. Courtney Menzies spoke to her and has this story.
25-year-old Jerome Bennett was sitting here in his yard when he was killed in cold blood. His family found him in a pool of blood after he was shot to the head.
According to the police, two gunmen ambushed him.
Senior Supt. Hilberto Romero, OC, Eastern Division
"Jerome Bennett was in the area when he was approached by two make persons with firearms who fired shots at them causing his fatal injuries. He was taken to the KHMH where he was pronounced dead on arrival. Two persons are in custody for this murder investigation at this time."
"We have not clearly established a motive. We are following on several leads, ah, the information is that he may have had an argument over some monies with the male persons who may have been involved."
However, those who know Bennett say he would never hurt anyone - he was an adult with the mind of a teenager after being diagnosed with an intellectual disability at an early age.
He attended Stella Maris for 7 years, and one of his past teachers, who has known him since he was 10 years old, told us she believed he fell into the wrong crowd.
Keisha Gentle, Past Teacher/Family Friend
"Yes, he's 25 but he still functions as if he's 12. He have a child, yes, but still they need that support because with Jerome, he, like I said, he was diagnosed with an intellectual disability and that has to do with the functioning and the processing of the brain. So he might seem old to you and he might look big in his body but then the brain is not functioning like where it should be functioning."
"Like all special needs students, they don't really understand that there's a danger or anything and the way how things are happening right now, they're using our kids as bait for certain things. I know Jerome might, cause plenty of times I would talk to him in regard to, you know, Jerome, you don't need to hang with anybody, you have your family, you have a good family, because his family is very respected in the church. I said, Jerome, what more do you want?"
But Gentle explained that special needs persons often feel ostracized - which lead them to seek friendships wherever they can find it.
Keisha Gentle, Past Teacher/Family Friend
"Our students here that come to our school have certain interests and society is looking down on person with disabilities so it's like that stigma is there for them so they feel like they don't fit in or even if they start work, they don't really have, like the rights aren't there that we would want to protect the child with a special need."
"That's why plenty of our students when they leave this institution, it's not like they want to go home or hang out or anything, but the support is not there so then we start fall with the wrong crowd and I think that's what happened to Jerome, he's looking for a friend but, again, the criminal or whatever just set it up and use our kids as bait cause Jerome thought he had friends out there but he didn't know what they were thinking."
And Gentle told us that she was shocked when she heard the news, especially since she's always known him as a loving person.
Keisha Gentle, Past Teacher/Family Friend
"Jerome was one of the sweetest students you could ever think about. He was loving, he was kind, he was well mannerly, he couldn't even hurt a fly, he was shy too, and sly."
"It hits every one of us here at the institution knowing that we have lost, because this is what, the third student we have lost from gun violence, innocently, wrong place at the wrong time, that would be a tremendous loss for us. I would just hope that we could put aside that stigma and give our students here a chance because they're normal, yes, they might have a disability, but if we put all of us in the same basket, I can do the same thing you can do."
Bennett leaves behind a son who turned 3 back in October.
