Father of teen killed in Oakland shooting calls for peace during NBA Finals
OAKLAND, Calif. (KTVU) -- The families of murder victims in Oakland on Tuesday talked about how they want to use the spotlight from the Warriors making the NBA Finals to help bring the city together in the name of peace.
The father of teenage murder victim Davon Ellis turned his grief to action Tuesday afternoon. Christopher Ellis was outside Oakland City Hall trying to focus some of the spotlight the city is getting for the Warriors on getting peace in Oakland.
"It's not necessarily taking all the guns off the streets, because they can always get more guns," Ellis said. "It's changing the mentality that makes them want to shoot another person."
14-year old Davon Ellis was shot and killed in the Fruitvale neighborhood where generations of his family grew up.
"Rolling down the street and killed him for nothing," Ellis said with tears in his eyes. "He was my only son. He was everything I ever wanted in a son and it was all gone, just like that."
A crime map of Oakland showed 126 crimes just last week, including robberies, sexual assaults, vandalism and homicide.
It's not the side of Oakland the city wants to showcase during the NBA playoffs.
"We're going to work together as community to put best foot forward as nation turns its attention on us," said Mayor Libby Schaaf.
"No one wants to see the real Oakland," said Oakland native and rap artist Stanle Cox, better known as Mistah F.A.B. "They don't want to show that."
Cox said generations of children raised without parents or direction have become numb to crime.
"Murder shouldn't be 'regular'," Cox explained. "It's not a 'wow' to us, and that's 'wow' to me! Like, how can someone lose their life and people aren't like, whoa?"
He said it's indicative of an attitude on the streets that glorifies what's wrong over what's right.
"A person gets out of jail, he gets more love than someone who graduates from college!" Cox exclaimed.
Ellis is hoping his newly formed Vonn World foundation will help give kids hope, by providing activities and jobs. He's organizing a rally and march on June 13th called A Piece of Peace for Oakland Streets.