Family outraged by latest Oakland homicide
KTVU And Wires
OAKLAND, Calif. —
The grandson of the first African-American mayor of Emeryville was gunned down early Thursday near a MacArthur Boulevard off-ramp – the latest victim of Oakland’s violent streets.
The grandmother of MiAndrew Rachel told KTVU that the 24-year-old was fatally shot in the 900 block of West MacArthur Boulevard.
Oakland police said they responded to a 911 call at approximately 2:42 a.m. and found a man with fatal gunshot wounds.
Investigators have released few details of the incident, but said the suspected gunman fled from the scene in a vehicle.
Rachel was Oakland's 82nd homicide of the year and his slaying has left the grandmother who raised him and his aunt outraged.
“It’s frustrating that my grandson is gone,” said Theresa Savage, Rachel’s grandmother and the widow of Robert Lee Savage, Emeryville’s first African-American mayor. “I raised him from a little tot. He and his brother.”
“He was a nice child, a sweet child,” the grief stricken Savage said with tears streaming down her face. “Two weeks ago he painted my whole living room…I don’t know why somebody would shoot him.”
As Savage wept, she was comforted by Rita Williams, Rachel’s aunt.
“All MiAndrew was, was a giver,” Williams told KTVU. “He was always trying to help people out… All he tried to do was help his grandmother out, get a job, get his license back and get back on his feet. All he did was help us out…He was just a good kid. This was a senseless murder.”
Williams, who also has a relative in the hospital being treated for a gunshot wound to the head, said it was time to end the cycle of deadly violence on Oakland’s streets.
“As parents, we need to take back our streets,” she said. “These kids need to stop taking these ‘E’ pills, doing syrup, doing shooting. Put these guns down and get them a 9-to-5 job… Go to church, get with God… It’s just senseless, you’re killing each other.”
“A gun is not the answer,” she continued. “A gun will only take you to the penitentiary.”
Police and Crime Stoppers of Oakland are offering up to $10,000 in reward money for information leading to the arrest of the killer. Anyone with information may call police at 510-238-3821 or Crime Stoppers at 510-777-8572 or 510-777-3211.
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