Mourners Gather At Oakland Vigil For Slain 5-Year-Old
OAKLAND (KCBS) – Family and friends gathered Monday night for a memorial for a young boy killed last week in Oakland.
A $25,000 reward is being offered for information about a Friday night shooting in Oakland that left five-year-old Gabriel Martinez, Jr. dead. The reward, offered by the Oakland Police Department and Crime Stoppers, is for information leading to the arrest and conviction in the shooting, which occurred in the 5400 block of International Boulevard at 8:39 p.m.
KCBS' Bob Melrose Reports:
The five-year-old was at a taco stand there with his family when he was shot by a man who had just ordered food.
Officers arrived on the scene at 8:40 p.m., and Martinez was taken in critical condition to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead later Friday night.
Police still don't know the motive, but say that Martinez Jr. was not the target.
"He was a very fun kid who loved to sing and he loved horses and animals. He was always with his dad," said family friend Marecella Chavez.
Oakland Police investigators are asking anyone with information about the fatal shooting to call the department's 24-hour tip line at (510) 773-2805.
Martinez is the third young child shot and killed in Oakland since last August.
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