According to the family of a deaf teen killed on Friday, the young man was shot after trying to explain to the gunmen that he couldn’t hear him.
Najai Welch said her brother, DeSean Welch, was watching a football game with his friends at Rancho Verde High School when a gunman approached them and began to question them. At that point, DeSean’s friend took out a cell phone in an attempt to explain that they didn’t understand what the gunman was asking them.
“We are deaf. We can’t hear you. We don’t understand what you are saying to us,” the teen wrote.
The gunman then took the phone and typed out a message claiming that he “bangs in this hood” before asking if they knew someone who lived in Ontario.
The group of friends were followed after leaving the football game, and deputies received reports of shots fired near the school later that night before being flagged down by the 18-year-old’s friends for help after he had been struck by gunfire.
Najai said that she believed her brother, who is not affiliated with any gangs, was killed in a case of mistaken identity.
“My brother didn’t deserve that,” she said.
The grieving sister said he was a good kid who dreamed of was making it into the NBA, adding that he had a had a basketball scholarship to USC.
