By james art BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) – The mother of the man killed in a mass shooting in Baton Rouge said his death is a great loss for their family.
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“It’s like I’m in a cloud, in a place of disbelief. This whole situation is just surreal,” said Pamela Cormier-Coco.
She said she’s still in disbelief after losing her son, Dexter Cormier, to gun violence. The father of two was hanging out with friends outside an after-hours restaurant when he was shot early Sunday morning.
“When he was shot, he tried to enter his code into his phone to make a call. He told them. The paramedics started working on him and he said to call my mom, tell my family I’m fine. Those were the last words I heard when he said he was going to be fine,” Cormier-Coco explained.
Baton Rouge police arrested 24-year-old Michael Robinson and 30-year-old Tyrrell Hamilton. Hamilton was charged with obstruction of justice. Robinson is charged with murder and five counts of attempted first-degree murder.
The arrest warrant shows that Robinson admitted to shooting Cormier after he claimed he heard someone shooting while waiting for his food at a food tent. Detectives believe Robinson fired into the crowd, hitting six people, including Cormier, who later died at a hospital.
Dexter Cormier was the primary caregiver for his father, who suffered a stroke five years ago.
“Never in those five years have I heard him complain. I always heard him encourage his father. When he’s in therapy, the relationship and the bond between them is so special,” Cormier-Coco said.
As Cormier’s family tries to cope with this tragedy, his smile and warmth will always be remembered.
“Everybody says they never met him with a frown on his face. He’s always smiling. He just has this positive energy. When he comes in, he’ll greet you and you’ll almost be family,” Cormier-Coco said. “Friendship was everything to him, and if a friend was a friend to him, there was nothing he wouldn’t do for them.” “That makes me proud. It makes me feel good. Even in loss, just to know that he was this wonderful being.”
The family will have a balloon release on Thursday, October 24th at 6:30pm at BREC’s Greenwood Park.
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