Dustin Rose, known to family and friends as “DJ,” and 18-year-old Samson Campbell were found shot to death Wednesday
.
Dustin Rose, 19, and Samson Campbell, 18, both suffering from multiple gunshot wounds were pronounced dead at the scene at 10:48 p.m.
Officers with the DeLand Police Department responded around 10:40 p.m. to a report of two deceased people at 213 W. New York Ave. and found both suffering from multiple gunshot wounds, pronounced dead at the scene at 10:48 p.m.
Rose was a student at The Citadel and served in the National Guard.
Campbell had come to DeLand to spread the ashes of his dog who had recently passed, and Dustin Rose was in town for summer break.
The two were childhood friends.
Campbell lived in DeLand and had recently moved to Chicago.
One of their mothers found the bodies by tracking a phone location, and discovered them behind an abandoned trailer.
The 911 operator heard the anguish in the woman’s voice on the recorded call.
“We’re scared to look at the bodies,”
the woman told the 911 operator.
“We think it’s our kid … they’re dead.”
Rose was home on break from The Citadel, where he was pursuing his dream of serving in the military, and his family said he had recently joined the South Carolina Army National Guard.
His aunt, Jaimie Scarola, described him as someone who dedicated his life to serving others: “He was willing to go to the front line and fight for our freedom, including the freedom of the one who took him from us.”
Scarola said Rose had a servant’s heart and a bright future ahead of him.
But Scarola’s message also carried a darker weight about what was lost forever.
“You took him away from not only his family, but
you robbed an entire country of a future soldier who didn’t get to answer that call,” Scarola said.
Jessica Gonzalez, mother to Samson Campbell, said: “People need to see that these were just young boys with good hearts and a future taken from them.”
“I just want it to be known they were not thugs or trouble makers … They were sweet goofy teenagers. Good hearted young men,” Gonzalez said.
Gonzalez’s plea for justice was unmistakable in tone and urgency.
“This is a tragedy and we need justice.”
DeLand Police Chief Jason Umberger said: “My thoughts are with the victims and their families today. This is a tragic situation for all involved, and my department is working to find the answers as to what happened.”
Both men had been shot multiple times.
In the viral moment Wednesday night, the bodies of two childhood friends lay dead in a vacant industrial lot behind the historic Athens Theatre in downtown DeLand, discovered by their own mothers.
A photo provided by police showed the teens early Tuesday evening in what was the last known image of the pair.
The two had been documenting what should have been a simple, sacred task: spreading the ashes of Samson’s dog, who had recently passed away. Instead, they were gunned down between Tuesday evening and Wednesday night, their futures erased in whatever violent moment claimed both their lives.
DeLand’s Police Chief Jason Umberger said: “At this stage of the investigation, detectives are continuing to determine the circumstances surrounding these deaths. Because the investigation remains active, we are not in a position to speculate regarding the motive or whether these two young men were targeted.”
No arrests have been made, and investigators have not identified a suspect.
For families desperately seeking answers about what happened to their sons, the investigation remains ongoing with detectives still canvassing the area and asking the public for help.