Mom wants answers: Son killed 10 years ago in Oakland on his way home
Mom looks for answers and justice for her son 10 years after he was shot and killed
Aya Nakano was on his way home from playing basketball. He called a friend to say that he was being followed as he was driving in Oakland. Oakland Police and the FBi say someone in a silver sedan deliberately rear-ended him. When he got out of his vehicle, likely to exchange information with the other driver who along with a passenger got out of the sedan. Nakano was shot and killed. His mother hopes a $!25,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible will generate leads.
OAKLAND, Calif. - It's been 10 long years for one Bay Area mother as she searches for answers and justice for her son.
She says 22-year-old Aya Nakano was shot and killed in Oakland on his way home from playing basketball.
His mother, Maria Climaco, said there is a $125,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for killing her son.
She said she visits the crime scene, a bus stop on Market Street, often to make sure there is a poster of her son there, to help keep attention on his case.
On Monday, she brought flowers for the tenth anniversary of her son's death.
"He has the biggest heart, the most compassionate person you'll ever meet," she said. "He has the ability to make strangers feel like they're best friends even though it's the first time."
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On the night of June 12, 2013, around 11 p.m., he was driving home from a pickup basketball game in Berkeley. He called a friend and said he was being followed.
Police have released a grainy image of the suspect vehicle: a four-door silver sedan with tinted rear windows.
The FBI said surveillance video showed that the driver deliberately rear-ended Nakano's Jeep Cherokee at the intersection of Market Street and Stanford Avenue.
Police said Nakano pulled over and got out of his vehicle, likely to exchange information with the two men who got out of the sedan.
"There was a verbal confrontation at that point. That's when the assailant shot him and they drove away.," said Dan Costin, FBI Assistant Special Agent in Charge.
He said the FBI is assisting Oakland police with this cold case investigation by collecting evidence and performing DNA analysis.
Costin said the shooting does not appear to stem from road rage and that the suspects did not steal from Nakano.
"Targeted in the sense that they identified his vehicle and for whatever reason, came after him at that point," said Costin.
The FBI said it doesn't have a motive at this point and it has not identified any person of interest.
Climaco said her son was her only child.
She said it's unbearable to see him robbed of a bright future.
Nakano had graduated from the University of Oregon and was aspiring to be a sports broadcaster.
She said it was his care for those around him that made him special.
"His deep sense of empathy for others. He would always try to make them feel better," said Climaco.
"I want to know why," she said,"He didn't deserve what happened to him."
On the night Nakano was killed, he was one hour from celebrating his 23rd birthday.
Amber Lee is a reporter with KTVU. Email Amber at Amber.Lee@Fox.com or text/leave message at 510-599-3922. Follow her on Facebook @AmberKTVU, Instagram @AmberKTVU or Twitter @AmberKTVU.