Two childhood friends came home for one last act of love.
They never made it back.
Dustin “DJ” Rose, 19, and Samson Campbell, 18, were found shot to death in a vacant lot in DeLand, Florida, after relatives spent hours trying to reach them.
Rose was a Private First Class in the South Carolina Army National Guard and a student at The Citadel. His family said he dreamed of building a life in military service.
Campbell had returned to the Volusia County community where the two young men grew up because his family’s beloved 8-year-old dog, Hinata, had died.
Rose traveled from South Carolina to help his friend spread the dog’s ashes.
The New York Post shared the heartbreaking circumstances surrounding the two friends’ deaths:
National Guard soldier and friend gunned down while spreading beloved dog's ashes https://t.co/ADNruJYSkc pic.twitter.com/YfG5bwaRLR
— New York Post (@nypost) August 1, 2026
DeLand Police Department says officers were called shortly before 11 p.m. Wednesday to an industrial area near the 400 block of West New York Avenue. Rose and Campbell were found in a vacant lot, and both had been shot multiple times.
Investigators immediately opened a double-homicide case. Police have not identified a suspect, announced a motive, or explained how long the two young men may have been dead before their relatives found them.
The department also released a surveillance image showing the friends walking together Tuesday evening in what authorities described as their last known sighting. Police Chief Jason Umberger said detectives were working rapidly to determine who was responsible.
Umberger urged the public to stay alert while the killer or killers remain unidentified. Anyone with information can contact the department’s Criminal Investigations Division at 386-626-7400 or submit a tip through Crime Watch.
WESH 2 News reports that both victims grew up in Volusia County before moving away. Rose, from DeLeon Springs, was attending The Citadel in South Carolina and had recently joined the South Carolina Army National Guard.
Campbell had been living with his aunt, Karen Chobin, in the Chicago area since December. He returned to DeLand, where his father still lives, to grieve Hinata’s death and was staying with Rose’s grandparents.
Chobin said the dog’s death had been traumatic, not the peaceful passing of an aging pet. Rose came home to stand beside Campbell and help him carry out the farewell.
Campbell was supposed to return to Chicago that weekend. Rose was due back at school Tuesday.
Instead, two families are planning funerals.
Chobin remembered Campbell as an unusually compassionate young man who saw the world differently and cared deeply for other people. She described Rose as the kind of friend who knew exactly how to support someone in grief.
What are your thoughts?
“These were very, very good boys,” she said.
The South Carolina National Guard said it was deeply saddened by the loss of PFC Rose and extended condolences to his family, friends, and fellow service members.
There is no known explanation for why two young men on such a personal mission were shot repeatedly and left in a vacant lot.
That unanswered question now hangs over DeLand while detectives search for whoever stole two promising lives and shattered two families.
Dustin Rose wanted to serve his country. Samson Campbell came home to honor a dog he loved.
They should both still be here.
May their families receive answers, and may justice come quickly.
Join the conversation!
Please share your thoughts about this article below. We value your opinions, and would love to see you add to the discussion!