--- title: "Ayo Dosunmu remembers Darius Brown, the friend he called 'my guy' who never reached eighth grade" description: "Dosunmu says a stray shooting at a Chicago park took a friend who played as well as he did, and that the loss still shapes him." url: https://cars.skoop.news/then-a-car-drives-by-shots-ring-out-they-werent--11-06/ published: 2026-11-07T03:22:49.023775-05:00 modified: 2026-11-07T03:22:49.023775-05:00 section: "Cars & EVs" publisher: "skoop.news" language: en keywords: ["ayo dosunmu", "Darius Brown", "Jet Life", "Metcalfe Park", "Chicago"] hashtags: ["#AyoDosunmu", "#DariusBrown", "#JetLife", "#Car", "#cars"] image: https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/46/Detroit_Electric_Car_Mt._Rainier.jpg/1280px-Detroit_Electric_Car_Mt._Rainier.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail --- # Ayo Dosunmu remembers Darius Brown, the friend he called 'my guy' who never reached eighth grade > Dosunmu says a stray shooting at a Chicago park took a friend who played as well as he did, and that the loss still shapes him. Published 2026-11-07 · Cars & EVs, [skoop.news](https://skoop.news/) ## In brief - Darius Brown never got to reach eighth grade, and Ayo Dosunmu says he has never fully processed losing him. [[1]](https://www.theplayerstribune.com/ayo-dosunmu-nba-basketball-minnesota-timberwolves) - Darius was two years older than Dosunmu and played on Dosunmu's brother's team. [[1]](https://www.theplayerstribune.com/ayo-dosunmu-nba-basketball-minnesota-timberwolves) - Dosunmu's father would pick Darius up on weekends. [[1]](https://www.theplayerstribune.com/ayo-dosunmu-nba-basketball-minnesota-timberwolves) ## A friend lost at a park Darius Brown never got to reach eighth grade, and Ayo Dosunmu says he has never fully processed losing him. [[1]](https://www.theplayerstribune.com/ayo-dosunmu-nba-basketball-minnesota-timberwolves) Dosunmu was 11 years old when Darius died. [[1]](https://www.theplayerstribune.com/ayo-dosunmu-nba-basketball-minnesota-timberwolves) Darius was a close friend, and Dosunmu called him 'my guy.' [[1]](https://www.theplayerstribune.com/ayo-dosunmu-nba-basketball-minnesota-timberwolves) Dosunmu says the whole world should know his name. [[1]](https://www.theplayerstribune.com/ayo-dosunmu-nba-basketball-minnesota-timberwolves) ## Who Darius was Darius was two years older than Dosunmu and played on Dosunmu's brother's team. [[1]](https://www.theplayerstribune.com/ayo-dosunmu-nba-basketball-minnesota-timberwolves) The two clicked right away, according to Dosunmu. [[1]](https://www.theplayerstribune.com/ayo-dosunmu-nba-basketball-minnesota-timberwolves) Dosunmu says Darius was a basketball player with no other priorities. [[1]](https://www.theplayerstribune.com/ayo-dosunmu-nba-basketball-minnesota-timberwolves) He describes Darius as a lefty, more polished and more charismatic than himself. [[1]](https://www.theplayerstribune.com/ayo-dosunmu-nba-basketball-minnesota-timberwolves) Dosunmu says Darius was just as good as him, if not better. [[1]](https://www.theplayerstribune.com/ayo-dosunmu-nba-basketball-minnesota-timberwolves) Darius also came up with the saying 'Jet Life,' which the two used together. [[1]](https://www.theplayerstribune.com/ayo-dosunmu-nba-basketball-minnesota-timberwolves) ## Weekends with the family Dosunmu's father would pick Darius up on weekends. [[1]](https://www.theplayerstribune.com/ayo-dosunmu-nba-basketball-minnesota-timberwolves) Darius slept over at the family's house and traveled with them to tournaments. [[1]](https://www.theplayerstribune.com/ayo-dosunmu-nba-basketball-minnesota-timberwolves) ## The day of the shooting The shooting happened during summer vacation. [[1]](https://www.theplayerstribune.com/ayo-dosunmu-nba-basketball-minnesota-timberwolves) Dosunmu's father fell asleep after work and asked that Darius be called and told the family would pick him up in the morning. [[1]](https://www.theplayerstribune.com/ayo-dosunmu-nba-basketball-minnesota-timberwolves) Darius went to play pickup basketball at Metcalfe Park instead. [[1]](https://www.theplayerstribune.com/ayo-dosunmu-nba-basketball-minnesota-timberwolves) The game was at 5:30 p.m. on a Wednesday, in daylight. [[1]](https://www.theplayerstribune.com/ayo-dosunmu-nba-basketball-minnesota-timberwolves) A car drove by Darius and shots rang out. [[2]](https://www.hoopshype.com/story/sports/nba/rumors/2026/11/05/then-a-car-drives-by-shots-ring-out-they-werent/92630193007/) According to Dosunmu, the shooters were not trying to hit Darius, but the gunfire hit him anyway. [[1]](https://www.theplayerstribune.com/ayo-dosunmu-nba-basketball-minnesota-timberwolves) Darius was taken to the hospital and did not survive. [[1]](https://www.theplayerstribune.com/ayo-dosunmu-nba-basketball-minnesota-timberwolves) ## The phone call Dosunmu was in the shower when his mother called him repeatedly. [[1]](https://www.theplayerstribune.com/ayo-dosunmu-nba-basketball-minnesota-timberwolves) When he picked up the phone, she told him that Darius had been shot at the park. [[1]](https://www.theplayerstribune.com/ayo-dosunmu-nba-basketball-minnesota-timberwolves) Dosunmu says Darius was not involved in crime and was not bothering anyone. [[1]](https://www.theplayerstribune.com/ayo-dosunmu-nba-basketball-minnesota-timberwolves) ## What it left behind After Darius's death, Dosunmu felt he could not fail, and that failure was not an option. [[1]](https://www.theplayerstribune.com/ayo-dosunmu-nba-basketball-minnesota-timberwolves) Dosunmu says Chicago is hard for kids, with every day being a risk. [[1]](https://www.theplayerstribune.com/ayo-dosunmu-nba-basketball-minnesota-timberwolves) ## What this means for families Dosunmu says families in Chicago must stay on guard, because every day is a risk for kids. [[1]](https://www.theplayerstribune.com/ayo-dosunmu-nba-basketball-minnesota-timberwolves) In his account, Darius was a kid at a park in daylight on a summer Wednesday, and the shooters were not aiming at him. [[1]](https://www.theplayerstribune.com/ayo-dosunmu-nba-basketball-minnesota-timberwolves) ## Sources 1. [This Jet Only Goes In One Direction by Ayo Dosunmu | The Players’ Tribune](https://www.theplayerstribune.com/ayo-dosunmu-nba-basketball-minnesota-timberwolves) — theplayerstribune.com 2. [Then a car drives by. Shots ring out. They weren’t …](https://www.hoopshype.com/story/sports/nba/rumors/2026/11/05/then-a-car-drives-by-shots-ring-out-they-werent/92630193007/) — hoopshype.com Image: Photo (illustrative): Cress-Dale Photo Co. / Wikimedia Commons, Public domain (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Detroit_Electric_Car_Mt._Rainier.jpg) --- Written from the sources above and checked twice (rules and an independent model) before publishing. How we work: https://skoop.news/how-we-work/ · Corrections: https://skoop.news/corrections/