OAKLAND – The mother of a 15-year-old girl killed in a shooting Wednesday in Oakland is calling on the community to help identify the suspect and bring them to justice.
The mother, who did not identify herself, made her plea in a video shared by the Oakland Police Department.
“I’d like the community to know that this is senseless, and we need to get together and find out who did this and put them where they belong,” she said. “We don’t need people out on the street who are just killing for no reason. We’ve got to get them off the street so that we can make our community better. The only way we’re going to do it is if we stick together.”
“It’s not called snitching,” she added. “It’s called protecting your city.”
The mother of 15-year-old Shamara Young describes her daughter as a loving person who was protective of her siblings. She speaks out for the first time since her daughter’s homicide last night. Hear her plea to the community to find her daughter’s killer. pic.twitter.com/ozeZOaFuZv
— Oakland Police Dept. (@oaklandpoliceca) October 8, 2021
The fatal shooting occurred at about 11:30 p.m. Wednesday in the 5000 block of Bancroft Avenue.
Police said the girl, identified as Shamara Young, was riding as a passenger in a vehicle apparently driven by her uncle when they were involved in a “road rage” incident with another motorist who then fired multiple rounds at them. The girl was the only one hit by gunfire.
No arrests have been made. At a news conference Thursday, Oakland police Chief LeRonne Armstrong said investigators had no firm leads on suspects, but they were reviewing additional surveillance camera footage from the area to obtain more information.
The death marked the city’s 109th homicide of the year. That grim tally is equal to the total number of homicides investigated by police in 2020. It is the fourth time since 2010 that the city has recorded more than 100 homicides. In 2011, there were 110 homicides and in 2012 there were 131. The lowest number in that period was 75 homicides in 2018.
Shamara “loved to go out and have fun with her friends,” but she “was also about making herself better,” her mother said. In addition, she was an “awesome big sister” who looked out for her younger brothers.
“And she was an awesome daughter,” her mother said. “She always wanted to give hugs and kisses and smother me with attention.”
The Oakland Police Department and Crime Stoppers of Oakland are offering up to $10,000 for information leading to the arrest of the suspect. Anyone with information can contact police at 510-238-3821 or 510-238-7950, or Crime Stoppers at 510-777-8572.