FORT WAYNE – A 19-year-old man remembered by his family for his dedication to his young children died Wednesday night in a shooting on Fort Wayne’s south side.
On Thursday, the Allen County coroner identified the victim as Ramareo Debrad Booher. Booher’s grandmother, Darcel Bright, recalled speaking to her grandson days earlier.
“I’m just remembering last time we talked,” she said. “He always called me ‘Nana’ – that’s what all of my grandkids call me. Even though he was 19, he’d always call me that.”
Lt. Mike McQueen of the Fort Wayne Police Department said police were called at 8:47 p.m. about a person lying in an alley in the 3100 block of Reed Street, between Eckart Street and Drexel Avenue. Booher died at the scene as a result of at least one gunshot wound, the coroner’s office said. His death was Allen County’s 29th homicide this year.
Ramareo Bright, Booher’s father, said his son had recently signed up for college at Ivy Tech and planned to study physics.
He had been in some trouble in recent years, his father said. According to court documents, Booher was convicted in October of misdemeanor resisting law enforcement.
“He was a real smart guy,” Bright said. “He was trying to get into college. He was on the verge of trying to turn his life around.”
Bright said Booher was working two jobs to support his two children – a 1-year-old son and a daughter who will soon turn 1.
“He loved his family, and his family loved him, too,” Bright said. “He was a good kid, and he loved his children.”