A 23-year-old college student is still fighting for his life after he was shot while working at a music video shoot outside The Licking in Miami Gardens two weeks ago.
Shanta and Clarence Bonius said their son Carlos Wilkerson is the glue that holds their family together. A young entrepreneur and college senior at Southeastern Louisiana University, they described him as someone who’s always working and giving.
“When he sees there’s a need for help, he’s there,” Shanta Bonius said. “He’s a good kid.”
Wilkerson is the ideal son, his parents said, and has three other sisters who he’s very protective over.
“God-fearing, loving, caring, respectful, and I know this not because I’m just his mom, but you can see the outpouring support of everyone saying the same things that we see in him,” Shanta Bonius said.
Wilkerson is a video director and the sole owner of his business Directed By Los. He was hired to provide his services for a music video for rapper French Montana in Miami on Jan. 5.
He was working that night outside The Licking in Miami Gardens. Police said 10 people were shot that night, including Wilkerson.
His parents hopped on the first plane out of Louisiana once they got the call.
“We hear it over and over and over again and now it’s our son, now it’s our son,” Shanta Bonius said. “In a million years I would have never imagined standing in this position.”
Wilkerson is currently on a ventilator. He suffered catastrophic damage to his spine and is paralyzed from the waist down, his parents said. They’ve had to temporarily move to Miami and don’t plan on leaving until they can get their son back home.
“We trust and believe he’ll come out of this because he’s strong,” Shanta Bonius said.
“He’s fighting and pushing through and he’s got strength but he’s going to need a lot of help,” Clarence Bonius said.
The Boniuses said they don’t have time to be angry at the person who pulled the trigger. Their focus is on their son. They’re also calling for stricter gun control laws.
“I don’t know why it’s so easy for people to pull a trigger, not even think about the consequences and everything that goes behind doing that,” Clarence Bonius said. “Of course, we work hard our whole life to protect our kids from things like this, send him to good schools, just try to put him in the best position where something like this couldn’t happen, but gun violence doesn’t really have a name or number on it clearly.”
Four of the shooting victims are still in critical condition and the six others are out of the hospital, police said. They have not made any arrests.
There is a GoFundMe set up to support Carlos and his family.