A mural painter was fatally shot Tuesday while working on a community art piece focusing on anti-violence in Oakland, Calif., police reported to the Los Angeles Times.
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Students were scheduled to work with artists at the site on Wednesday.
The mural, under an Interstate 580 overpass, illustrates a idyllic scene of West Oakland, with vibrantly-colored Victorian houses amid a tree-lined street and a creek.
A single male suspect walked up to the area where the artists were working, shot the victim and walked away, Watson said. The Super Heroes Mural Project is run by Attitudinal Healing Connection (AHC) of Oakland, an arts nonprofit that aims to empower communities through creativity.
Ramos was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead from his injuries a short time later.
Antonio Ramos, killed September 29, 2015 while painting a mural in Oakland. After getting into a conversation with a man who was passing by that quickly grew heated, witnesses said, the man pulled out a gun and fired, hitting him once, NBC reports.
Clottey said the shooting is emblematic of a larger issue of violence around the world. A friend of Ramos’ has set up an online fund to raise money for his family and funeral costs. Authorities confirmed Antonio Ramos, 27, was participating in the Oakland Super Heroes Mural Project when he was killed.
The homicide was the 71st this year in a city with a population of less than half a million.
“I think this is an isolated incident”, said Aeeshah Clottey, one of the founders of Attitudinal Healing Connection of Oakland, a group that seeks to stop violence by inspiring people with art and education.
Higgins, who wouldn’t share her age, said of the area, “Some days it’s nice, and a few days it’s like this”.
“We’re devastated”, David Burke, the mural project’s art director, told the Tribune.
Burke said, “He said, “I love what you are doing and I want to be a part of it” and he showed up every day after that and lifted everyone up”.
A staffer at the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office Coroner’s Bureau referred questions to Oakland police, who weren’t able to respond to several questions Wednesday morning.
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Burke said he was at the mural scene when the shooting occurred but he didn’t see what happened because his back was to the street and he was focused on painting.
