Ridgeland boy, 5, was jumping on a bed when a bullet hit him. His mom pleads for justice
DeAndre Robinson, a 5-year-old boy killed Tuesday in Ridgeland, was jumping on the bed in his house when a bullet came through the wall and hit him, said his mother, Deanna Frazier.
“I keep saying if he wasn’t jumping on the bed, he would probably still be here,” she said.
DeAndre was at his family’s home in the Wagon Branch area around 9:15 p.m. when he was hit by shots fired in a drive-by shooting, according to Chief Deputy Jeff Crosby from the Jasper County Sheriff’s Office. The child was rushed to a nearby fire department by family and then transported to Coastal Carolina Hospital in Hardeeville.
The neighbors in that area consist of families and retired people, Frazier said, and bullets whizzing by is not a common occurrence.
“It’s been an issue at another time in that area, but it ... had nothing to do with the night my son passed,” Frazier said. “There’s never been an incident where anyone shot at the house. That was a first.”
The shooting was random, Frazier said, and took her family off guard.
“Nobody was alert; nobody was aware,” she said. “It just so happened that the one bullet that hit the house hit my son.”
‘There will never be another DeAndre’
DeAndre was an only child and the center of attention in his household. His name is a mix between his father’s, Andraye Robinson, and his mother’s.
“I wish I could have told him I loved him and how special he was,” Frazier said. “I’m sure he knows that. I told him every day of his life.”
DeAndre was almost through his first year of kindergarten at Ridgeland Elementary School, according to his mother. After a year at home during the pandemic, she thought he would be more attached and panicked when she dropped him off for his first day of school, but he walked right into the classroom without hesitation and could not wait to go back after Christmas break.
“There will never be another DeAndre,” Frazier said. “His dad loved him. His parents loved him.”
Her son was very active, she said, and loved playing kickball, tag and wrestling with his dad. At school, he had lots of friends and loved gym class and dancing.
“If you turned (music) on, he’d start dancing,” Frazier said. “And once he started, it was hard to get him to stop.”
His favorite movie was “Sing,” about a koala who creates an “American Idol”-style contest in order to save his failing theater. DeAndre liked to dance and sing along to the music in the movie with his guitar, his mother said.
He was joyful, silly and loved playing video games on his tablet. He was a picky eater whose favorites included McDonald’s Happy Meals, fried chicken and collard greens. He had received blue Crocs for Christmas, his mother said, and wore them all day long.
Investigation update
As of Thursday afternoon, Crosby did not have an update regarding suspects in the case but did say police were making “headway” in the investigation. The S.C. Law Enforcement Division is helping the Sheriff’s Office in the investigation.
For DeAndre’s parents, answers cannot come soon enough. They have created the social media tag #JusticeforDeAndre to let people know how special their son was.
“We want justice for him and don’t plan to stop until we get it,” Frazier said. “His mom and dad love him so much, and he has an army behind him.”
