According to the California Highway Patrol, a nearly 2-year-old child died by getting hit by a single bullet in a shooting incident in Oakland after 2 p.m. local time on Saturday. The child was reportedly riding home from San Francisco along with his family.
The toddler and the family were riding in a white Lexus sedan nearby Filbert Street southbound of Interstate 880. The victims were rushed to the nearest hospital namely UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital in Oakland, but the toddler later died.
His family identified the toddler as a 23-month-old Jasper to the news sources. Moreover, the family also highlighted to the news outlet that the child struggled to survive, however, his injuries were quite severe which served as the cause of death.
Jasper’s aunt also told KPIX 5 that she along with other family members were traveling to Fremont from San Francisco when the stray bullet hit the toddler in the head on the highway. In addition, she said that three other children were also sitting in the back of the car and it was driven by the victim’s mother.
The incident site was then shut down for more than 3 hours as per the news sources. The traffic was also backed up at least five miles.
“Evidence collected on the northbound side of the freeway may indicate the victims were not targeted and the child passenger was struck by a stray bullet,” CHP said in Saturday’s release.
The details regarding the possible shooter are yet to be disclosed.
The news sources reported that the local Asian American community is lending helping hands to assist the family in their tough times.
“I can’t imagine what the family is going through, and what they have to deal with for years to come in terms of PTSD,” Leanna Louie of United Peace Collaborative told the news outlet.
Hudson Liao of the organization Asians Are Strong said the family “is now changed forever.”
“Their lives are absolutely shattered and destroyed because we haven’t been able to protect our people in our city and our state at all,” Liao told the news outlet.
The Special Investigation Unit is properly investigating the incident and has asked for the public’s assistance to provide them with whatever information they have. You can contact the helpline of the CHP Investigation Tipline.
