Shooting of Latino youth exposes violent reality
The chain of events following the shooting death March 19th of Jose Luis Buenrostro-Gonzalez reflects both the fear and reality of police violence and gang violence.
A family and a community wanting to remember 15-year-old Jose Luis in peace are questioning their trust in the police and the threat of gangs in their neighborhoods.
Jose Luis was fatally shot around 12:00 noon that Wednesday by three gang unit police officers. The shooting occurred in the area of 79th Avenue and Rudsdale Street, an area known for gang activity and related violence.
The police officers involved in the shooting say Jose Luis pointed a 22-caliber sawed-off rifle at them and that the officers fired in defense of their lives. Several witnesses reported that they didn’t see a gun. Police believe Jose Luis may have been involved with a gang in the area. Jose Luis’ family and friends deny that he was involved in any gang activity.
As the police investigated, family and friends created a memorial of pictures, flowers and other items near the spot where Jose Luis was shot, which is just a few blocks from his house. His father told Visión Hispana that the memorial was destroyed by unknown persons and that friends and family soon rebuilt it, refusing to be denied their right to remember and honor Jose Luis.
At the memorial service on Monday night, it became frighteningly clear that certain people were intent on not allowing Jose Luis’ family and friends to remember him in peace. About 8:25pm, gunmen driving by in two separate cars shot at the crowd standing outside the church during the memorial service for Jose Luis. A 13-year-old boy was shot in the ankle and recovered in the hospital.
Police said investigators suspected the shooters belonged to a gang considered rivals to the group to which the Jose Luis allegedly belonged. Visión Hispana Newspaper spoke to Jose Luis Buenrostro, Jose Luis’ father, on the morning of the day of the memorial service as he was making arrangements for the transport of his son’s body to La Palma, Michoacan, Mexico. Speaking to him again afterthe shooting at the church, he said he was very afraid about what happened. The shooting at the church affected people very strongly. “People are angry and feel disrespected,” says Christy Hogan of Oakland Community Organizations.
“They are traumatized. Some children do not want to go outside again,” she adds. As families continue to live with fear and anger, they are questioning what they can do to break the pattern of violence. The ongoing police investigation will not likely bring answers that satisfy the community, which is forced to look inward for ways to regain real peace and solidarity.
Following the church shooting, a call and email from Visión Hispana to the Oakland police department were not returned.