“He had a big heart and he was a great dude. This should not have happened,” said the cousin of 25-year-old Sam Bradley.
A fun holiday spent with family turned deadly early Tuesday morning.
“Being the 4th of July I didn’t know if it was a gunshot or firework or what it was,” said Bradley’s cousin.
Bradley’s cousin who wanted to protect his identity says he and his cousin were walking from his house to a neighbor’s house near 27th and Laurel Avenue around 2:30 in the morning when a car pulled up next to them and started shooting.
“After the first shot I turned my head around and it was like a ten second pause and then they fired a second shot and they started rolling towards me and I just started booking it towards my house,” said Bradley’s cousin.
The man says a shot was fired in his direction but missed. His cousin had been hit.
“He said call an ambulance, I’ve been shot twice, I think I am going to die. He said tell my mom, my kid and my baby’s mom I love them,” said Bradley’s cousin.
Bradley was rushed to the hospital where he later died.
“His mother now has to live without her baby boy. I mean he is a grown man, but us mothers know they are always our babies,” said close family friend Betty Falknor.
Betty Falknor who spoke on behalf of her best friend Kathy, the victim’s mother, says the family has no idea who would want to harm such a loving son, father and friend.
“Even though he still had some wrinkles to get out before he was totally grown, his heart was in the right place,” said Falknor.
So far no suspects have been identified.
“Whoever you are, wherever you are, come forward and give these families closure. I’m not just talking about the people I love, but all these families that have to go through this. Give them some kind of closure, some answers. That is the biggest thing, not having answers when your loved one is suddenly gone,” said Falknor.
Police ask anyone with information about the homicide to please call 402-444-STOP.
