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Feature
Young Father Fatally Shot At Apartments
“When allowed to run its course, evil destroys itself. Vio- lent people become victims of violence and liars are victims of others deceit. But in the process innocent people are hurt.”
Psalms 7:14-16, 9:15-16.
Tampa Police were on the scene of a shooting at 1100 West Nassau Street in West Tampa 3 a.m. Friday.
Detectives said a man suffered a fatal gunshot wound and was found inside an apartment at Oakhurst Square. It was also reported that a car in the parking lot of the complex was fired at.
The victim was later identified as
Freddie Benson Raiford (Nuchie), 20, the father of a baby girl.
Raiford’s grandmother, Rose Pugh Raiford, said her grandson spent a lot of time at the Oakhurst Apartments because family members live there, and also a young lady he’d been seeing.
“A few years ago, I was terrified to allow him over there,” said Mrs. Raiford.
“There was a lot of gun violence, but I give praise to the police depart- ment and management at the com- plex for cleaning all of that up.”
Mrs. Raiford said it wasn’t until recently she noticed things were be-
FREDDIE BENSON RAIFORD
ginning to get dangerous again. “Nuchie lived with us, and since we lived within a block of where he was going, I thought he’d be alright. There were times, however, when I just wasn’t comfortable with him being over there, but he had aunts and other relatives who always looked
out for him.
“When he was shot, I remember
being awakened by the sound of gun- fire. It never occurred to me that my grandson was involved. When I got
Freddie Benson Raiford and his daughter, Brasia.
the call, I ran down there, and I saw the paramedics. When I tried to get close to him, they pushed me back.”
Mrs. Raiford said when she re- turned home, she began getting all kinds of information about what hap- pened.
“I was told that something had been put on Facebook that there was going to be a shooting at the complex. I was also told that Nuchie wasn’t the target. I think it was the boys he was hanging with at the complex.
“Nuchie didn’t have an enemy in the world, and everyone really cared a lot about him. He was a great grand- son, and a great young man. That’s why none of this makes sense.”
Mrs. Raiford said she, Nuchie’s grandfather, Jimmy Raiford, Sr., his mother, Nikki, grandmother Thelma Benson, and other members of the family are dev- astated, and don’t know how this could have happened.
“When you read and hear about these things happening to other young people, you never expect it to happen to a member of your family,” said Jimmy Raiford.
“This is not something we will be able to quickly put behind us because of the young man Nuchie was.”
Family members said they will miss Nuchie sitting around watching wrestling on television, and just being a part of their lives.
“Everyday he’d stand in the hall- way at my house and make sure he spoke to me and that we were all al- right. He honestly cared about other people, not just his family members.
“I can’t think of a better reason for older people to get together and find a way to put a stop to this violence. It has and serves no purpose,” said Mrs. Raiford.
Tampa Police Department spokesperson, Janelle McGregor, said no suspects have been identified in the murder, and because of the sensitive nature of their investigation, they aren’t releasing any further de- tails at this time.
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