CLEVELAND — The crowd of mourners spilled into West 90th Street Monday as more than 50 friends and family members gathered to remember 30-year-old Darrian Bruster, who was shot and killed on Cleveland’s east side Friday night.
“Darrian was a great person,” said his sister India Bruster. “He had so many people that loved him and cared for him.”
At the vigil, Bruster was remembered as a gentle giant, a former altar boy who went on to play four years of college basketball at Bethany College after graduating from Cleveland Central Catholic High School.
His sister said she still can’t believe he’s gone.
“The words put together in a sentence, ‘my brother isn’t here anymore,’ those words don’t make sense to me,” said India Bruster.
That’s because she said her brother tried to avoid the kind of trouble that claimed his life.
Cleveland police said the 30-year-old was shot and killed near Shaker Blvd. and East 108th Street around 9:00 p.m. Friday.
Another man, 35-year-old Deshawn Ford, was also shot and died at the hospital.
Bruster’s family said the two men were friends and together Friday evening.
Beyond that, they said they’ve received few details from police.
But India Bruster said her brother was simply at the wrong place at the wrong time.
She struggles to understand why her brother was killed.
“You didn’t have to do that,” said Bruster. “Like it takes a person without a soul to do something like that.”
Now, she said, her family wants justice for the gunman who took a decorated artist who thrived on spreading positivity from this world.
“If you know something, say something,” said Bruster. “Otherwise, they’re going to keep doing it again and again, and it’s not going to stop.
Cleveland police are asking anyone with information about Friday’s shooting to call investigators, reminding people tips can remain anonymous.
