OAKLAND, CA — 15 year-old Shamara Young was shot and killed Wednesday night in a road rage shooting. Her death marks the 109th homicide in the Northern California city this year.
“She loved her family a lot. She loved her little brothers and she was very protective of them,” Young’s mother told police.
“She was an awesome daughter,” she said. “She’d always give hugs and kisses and smother me with attention.”
According to Oakland Police Chief LeRonne Armstrong, the tragedy occurred when Young was driving in the car with her uncle in East Oakland at around 11:30 in the evening. During the drive, her uncle and a driver in another car “began to have dialogue,” which resulted in a heated argument between the two drivers.
In the other car, someone fired multiple rounds, one of which struck the teenager, Armstrong told reporters.
“How many times do we have to cry out for help? How many times do we have to say to you that we are in a moment of crisis?” the police chief said. “Our children are in danger.”
“The police department has not done enough. The community has not done enough. The leaders of this city have not done enough. Today everybody in this city should be hurt,” he continued.
“When you have children, you understand. You understand when your kids leave home you expect them to return safe. … Let this be a calling to all of us that we have to do something,” he said.
When speaking to police, Young’s mother called the random act of violence “senseless” and urged the community to come together to find the person responsible for her daughter’s death.
“It’s not called snitching. It’s called protecting your city,” she said in a video tweet issued by the Oakland Police Department.
As of now, no arrests have been made.
