South Bend shooting victim identified, family speaks out

SOUTH BEND, Ind.-- The man found dead inside a running car with multiple gun shot wounds on Monday has been identified as 21-year-old Ruben James Waters. His biological family in South Dakota is now seeking justice.

“In our family, Ruben was the goofy one. He was always trying to make someone laugh. Always trying to keep people smiling. Even if he was down and couldn’t smile for himself," said Waters' cousin Annecia Bordeaux. 

On Monday morning, South Bend police responded to a call for a welfare check.

Officers discovered 21-year-old Ruben Waters inside the car, dead, with gunshot wounds, but that’s not the memory his cousin Annecia is choosing to remember waters by.

“We made this video at my apartment and he was dancing. We were laughing nonstop to the point that we had tears in our eyes. He’s gone now and it’s hard," said Bordeaux. 

She tells me Walters was adopted and taken to South Bend from the young age of five until he was 18, but he always kept in touch with his biological family.

“He got to know our family. He got to meet all his nieces and nephews and cousins. Some of his uncles and aunties haven’t seen him since they were kids," said Bordeaux.

According to Bordeaux, he’d only been back in South Bend for about six months when the Monday morning incident happened. He was planning on returning to South Dakota. 

"He’s been wanting to come home and that’s what was supposed to happen before this day came," said Bordeaux. We all want justice to find out who did this to him.”

The investigation is still active but no arrests have been made.