Two funds for the surviving family members of a young man who was shot dead in Florida on Tuesday night combined reached about $250,000.
Dustin Wakefield, 21, of Castle Rock, was shot at a Miami Beach restaurant as he protected his 1-year-old-son from the alleged shooter, Tamarius Blair Davis Jr., 22, of Norcross, Ga. Wakefield, a plumber’s apprentice, was with family in Florida on vacation.
On Thursday night, two GoFundMe pages combined, started by his family members, had more than 4,500 donors. One page had raised about $226,000 as of 7 p.m. Thursday, the other page just under $50,000.
Wakefield was a plumber’s apprentice with Design Mechanical Inc., said Carlos Vigil, a fellow apprentice and close friend.
“He was one of the best people I’ve ever met,” said Vigil, 26. “A real humble individual.”
Vigil also has a young son, about the same age as Wakefield’s boy.
“He was eager and excited, he loved being a family man and he always talked about his wife and son,” Vigil said. “He had everything going for him.”
On Wakefield’s Linkedin page, he talked about how he came to be mechanically inclined.
“Ever since I was a kid, I would always be out in the garage helping my dad with all the different projects that he had. He taught me how to use power tools correctly and safely, and the basics of how things work. Because of these experiences, I have become mechanically inclined and have no problem working with all different kinds of tools,” Wakefield said. “One of the most important things he taught me was to be a man of integrity. At first, I didn’t know what this meant, but have since learned that it means to be a man of your word, even when no one is watching. It means to be honest and truthful, and to be a man that everyone can count on.”
Vigil recalled that Wakefield enjoyed doing simple things to help people get through their days, like picking up a lunch tab, offering a ride home to someone who needed one, and lending an ear to listen to a friend’s problems.
“He was wise way beyond his years,” Vigil said. “It’s a shame, a shame he was taken from us.”
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