An online fundraiser for an Alameda County Sheriff’s Office recruit who was killed in a freeway shooting raised more than $5,000 in its first hour Friday.
David Nguyen died Tuesday afternoon after being hit with gunfire while driving on the connector from westbound Interstate 580 to Interstate 80. He was not in uniform and was driving home to San Francisco after a day in the agency’s 172nd training academy.
He was 28. Sheriff’s Sgt. J.D. Nelson said he is believed to be the first department recruit ever to be killed during his training period.
The fundraiser is seeking $25,000. It was created around 2 p.m. Friday and had raised $5,245 by 3 p.m.
“David was someone who would step into a room and draw everyone’s attention,” read a tribute on the fundraiser from David’s sister Barbara Nguyen and fundraiser co-creator Aaron Lam. “Anyone blessed enough to have met him would immediately be drawn to his passion and love for his fellow man; he was instilled with a desire to serve his community and show what human kindness truly was.”
Nguyen was scheduled to graduate from the academy in February after beginning his training there in July. He also served as a military police officer for the California National Guard’s Concord-based 870th Military Police Company.
“During his tenure in the National Guard, David was an exemplary serviceman,” the tribute read. “When the call went out, he was always the first to report for duty. From helping evacuate citizens during the wildfires, to providing provisions … David did everything in his power to make sure others were safe, secure, and comfortable.”
The California Highway Patrol is investigating the shooting and has not made any arrests.
The Deputy Sheriff’s Association of Alameda County has offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and prosecution of Nguyen’s killer.
The tribute on Nguyen’s fundraiser page said the world would be lesser without him.
“He was taken from this world way too early, before fulfilling the great potential we all knew he had within him,” it read. “He was a son, a friend, a brother. He was a leader, a mentor, and probably the silliest clown one could ever know. With David, there was never a dull moment or wasted minute.”
Source: www.mercurynews.com