COLUMBUS, Ohio — Latrice Bradley is in shock Friday, still processing the news of her son’s death while he was at work overnight.
“We have a reckless society and now here I am another Black, young mom burying their kid,” Bradley said.
Desmond Taylor, 27, is Bradley’s eldest son. He was working security at Avalon in downtown Columbus with fellow security guard, Ceilin Smith when the two were shot and killed.
There was an altercation outside the club that led to shots being fired around 1:45 a.m., according to Columbus police.
Two other people were shot and are expected to survive.
“Four people to be shot at once, that is a big deal. Innocent people at that, innocent people, it is a big deal,” Bradley said. “Two security men are dead. There is only one person to blame and that is the shooter because the security men were doing their job.”
Taylor was passionate about his job as a security guard, his mother said.
“He knew the risk, he did. He loved that job,” Bradley said. “He died doing the job he loved.”
His friend and former boss, Jay Wade, introduced Taylor to the security industry in South Bend, Indiana before he and his family moved to Columbus.
“Man it breaks my heart, breaks my heart to see a man that turned his life around doing the right things by everybody, breaks my heart,” Wade said.
Wade said Taylor took his job seriously.
“He never smiled, he never smiled on the job,” Wade said. “There were two Dezs, the work Dez and the after-work Dez.”
Bradley moved her family to Columbus a few years ago to give her son a fresh start after he was struggling in his early 20s and said he was thriving working in the Columbus security industry.
“That is what second chances are for. When he came to Columbus, he got a second chance and he turned it around,” she said.
The other victim, Ceilin Smith, was Taylor’s friend.
Police have shared photos of persons of interest, as they continue to investigate the shooting.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Columbus Police Homicide Unit at 614-645-4730 or Central Ohio Crime Stoppers at 614-461-TIPS (8477).