The death of rapper Indian Red Boy was just another in the endless back & forth gang violence fate that they will always suffer, unworthy of being reported on, except this one became exceptionally unique. Not only was his death captured live on Instagram, but it is truly haunting. There are many ISIS & Mexican drug cartel beheading videos that are much more gruesome in the brutality shown, but this more than makes up for what isn’t shown, with the elements involved. More than any other death video, this one shows how fragile life UNEXPECTEDLY changes in the blink of an eye, with maximum emotion & sadness exuding from the dying. Word is he was betrayed by a girl & his location was given to rival gang members, so if he had any room for feeling betrayed in the final minute, there is that too. 

Set aside that these are scumbags that are living a life of violence & terrorizing communities. In the moment, you have 2 friends laughing & joking. To go from that vibe, to the end of life – in a split second – makes all the difference. Beheadings & other gruesome videos usually have a melancholy / horror feel to it from the start, the victim usually resigned to their fate. Not here.

This rapper is sitting in his car, unknowingly a sitting duck to an already targeted hit job, blind sided by the grim ripper, & doesn’t give up until his body makes him. Despite 12 holes in his head & lungs, he tries to scream out “help, help I’m in Hawthorne“, but his lungs have collapsed, & filling with blood. 

Besides the extreme contrast of joy to pain with the snap of the fingers, there is insane irony in what he is saying becoming reality. They are literally talking about not getting caught slipping by not being armed. The rapper asks what would his friend do if he gets ambushed & he has no gun on him, & as he is being shot up, before the friend realizes what is going on, he gestures with his fists saying he can punch!

You hear about shootings all the time, but this video captures the rawest emotions of a man who may or may not know his life is slipping away. In one frame his face is full of anguish either from the pain, &/or from the utter sadness that his life is flashing before his eyes. Maybe the latter, because pain sometimes doesn’t set in so fast. Probably when his voice has abandoned him is when he knows he is not going to make it, but even when his phone goes down to his lap, & he’s staring ahead, he looks down at the camera a final time, still aware.

1. The mood doing a 180 in a second
2. the irony
3. & his facial expressions & attempts to cry out for help
4. the prolonged desperation & mental maybe more than physical suffering going on.

all makes this the most eerie & sad death video that comes to mind. If you aren’t prepared to stomach it, you can scroll down for still frames instead, or try muting the video. There is value in watching it despite not relating to scumbags way of life – no better way then watching this public service to appreciating life, realizing how fragile it is, & how fast it can be taken. His real name was Zerail Dijon Rivera & his best contribution to this earth was this video.