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'Family Man' Joshua Rayborn Killed Outside His Bridgeport Apartment

By Joe Ward | September 20, 2017 5:57am
 Erica Benavidez lights a candle in memory of her cousin, Joshua Rayborn (inset), who was killed Monday.
Erica Benavidez lights a candle in memory of her cousin, Joshua Rayborn (inset), who was killed Monday.
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DNAinfo/Joe Ward

BRIDGEPORT — Hours after Joshua Rayborn was gunned down outside his Bridgeport apartment Monday, he was memorialized by family and friends as a family man and aspiring performer.

"I jumped in my truck and flew over here," said Erica Benavidez, who heard of her cousin's killing late Tuesday morning and drove to the scene to be with family. "We're not doing good. His kids are traumitized."

Rayborn, 28, was standing outside his apartment in the 2900 block of South Arch Street about 11:30 p.m. Monday when someone shot him, police said. He was taken to Stroger Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Rayborn was married and had two kids, who were home during the shooting, Benavidez said. The family is now at Rayborn's mother's house as they deal with the trauma of losing their father and husband, she said.

The killing took Benavidez by surprise.  She said her cousin was laser-focused on his family and music career, which had begun to show promise. He also was relied on to help out his mother and aunts, which he happily did regularly, friends said.

"He was a family man," she said. "He wasn't out here gangbanging. That's what he put first — his family and his music."

Benavidez said she didn't know the circumstances of the shooting. She put some candles and balloons outside her cousin's apartment Tuesday and said the family is considering ways to pay tribute to Rayborn.

"He was a good person," she said. "He just wanted to perform."