Oakland family searches for answers after 2 men killed

OAKLAND, Calif. (KTVU) - An Oakland family is searching for answers after two men were killed last weekend.

The men were found dead Sunday inside a home in West Oakland.

The family of one man reached out to KTVU to ask for help in finding out what happened to them.

The coroner’s office tells KTVU Oakland Police have put a hold on the cause of death in this case.  

But family and friends say both men were shot to death. 

Relatives of Shawn Ford Senior created a memorial for him in his front yard on Adeline Street, across from Defremery Park.  

They say they're struggling to find out who killed the loving patriarch of their family. The 51-year-old raised his children in the home he has owned for decades. 

"He was my best friend. I'm daddy's little girl," said Roshawnda Ford, his daughter.  

Family members say they learned from the coroner that Ford and his friend, 49-year old Willard Lewis, died from gunshot wounds. 

They say a relative found their bodies in the front dining room around 9 p.m. Sunday.
  
"It was gruesome and he didn't deserve to leave this earth that way," said Gasmine Hood, the mother of Ford's grandson.    

The family shared with us a video of Ford doing something he loved - dancing and being with his grandchildren. 

They say Ford worked as a handyman and was a longtime fixture in his neighborhood.  

"He's always had a wonderful, outgoing personality. Most people who knew him  liked him," said Mercedes Rodriguez, Ford's friend.  

Relatives say a friend reported seeing Ford out in the neighborhood just hours before he was found dead Sunday.

"I don't understand how this could happen to someone like him. I'm perplexed It hurts my heart really," said Rodriguez.   

Family members say Ford did not own a gun and doesn't know why anyone would want to hurt him or his friend. 

"This is horrible. This is something you see in a movie.  When it's reality...it's oh my God. It's really hard for me to process. It really is," said Roshawnda Ford, his daughter.  

The family said  there was an anti-gun rally in the park across the street from Ford's home on Sunday. The day he and his friend were killed.   

There were a lot of people in the area. Relatives are asking that anyone who saw or heard anything to contact police.