Police announced on Thursday that three gang members were arrested in connection with the tragic shooting death of a toddler sleeping in his car seat inside a vehicle on a freeway in Oakland, California.
On Nov. 6, 2021, two rival gang members engaged in a gun battle on Interstate Highway 880 in the middle of the day, according to Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O’Malley.
Trevor Green and Ivory Bivins – members of the Chopper City street gang based in San Francisco – were driving in an Infiniti G35. The gangbangers were shooting at a Nissan Altima with Johnny Jackson and Keison Lee – members of the Eddy Rock criminal street gang out of San Francisco, O’Malley said.
Lee – who was driving the Altima – was hit by gunfire.
“Lee went to the hospital that afternoon in San Francisco and through the great work of the California Highway Patrol, they recovered the Altima with bullet holes near the hospital,” O’Malley stated. “That car was riddled with bullet holes including an exit hole and a spent .45 caliber carriage casing. While being treated in San Francisco, Lee’s hands were tested for gunpowder residue which turned out to be positive. He was interviewed and admitted to being shot on the freeway.”
Lee was not charged in the shooting because he was killed in an unrelated gang shooting last month.
During the gang shootout, 23-month-old Jasper Wu was hit by a stray bullet intended for the targeted Altima. The toddler was reportedly sleeping in a car seat while his mother drove a Lexus sedan on the other side of I-880. There were three other children in the vehicle when the bullet hit the toddler.
Jasper was shot in the head and rushed to UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Wu’s grandmother told KPIX-TV last year, “He’s such a sunny and open and active boy.”
On Thursday, Green, 22, of Richmond; Bivins, 24, of Vallejo; and Jackson, 28, of Richmond, were each charged with murder, shooting at an occupied vehicle, and being a felon in possession of a firearm. Bivins and Green were also charged with conspiracy to commit a crime and criminal street gang conspiracy.
In March, Green and Bivins were arrested on warrants for another alleged crime in Contra Costa County. The suspects will be transferred to Alameda County to face their charges, according to authorities.
During Thursday’s press conference, Carl Chan – president of the Oakland Chinatown Chamber of Commerce – spoke for the grieving family.
“It was for them mixed feelings,” Chan said, according to KNTV. “First thing is first, they were very happy and excited to see this press conference of this case, but at the same time they feel like this is bringing back the memory of day one of what happened.”
O’Malley said, “This is the worst nightmare and outcome of gun violence and especially gang gun violence. Innocent people are quite literally caught in the crossfire. The horrific nightmare for the Wu family and their baby being killed in such a senseless and violent manner can never be reconciled.”
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