We now know the identity of the woman who was fatally shot in East Oakland last Wednesday, as 33-year-old mother of eight Maria Ramos was shot while attempting to confront a group of alleged drug dealers.
A woman was shot and killed at about 2:30 pm last Wednesday on the 5600 block of Hilton Street near Bancroft Avenue, marking Oakland’s 55th homicide of the year. There was not much information about the shooting at the time, though the Chronicle had a key detail that the victim “drove with her mother to confront the three suspects in a vehicle.”
Maria Ramos of East Oakland was shot and killed after confronting a group of teenagers she suspected of selling drugs to her son.
— San Francisco Chronicle (@sfchronicle) August 14, 2024
“It just happened so quick,” Ramos’ mother recounted. “I saw her running. I heard a bang. And then I saw her going down.” https://t.co/vf2X6rG60X
Now the Chronicle has a great deal more detail, and identifies that the shooting victim was 33-year-old Maria Ramos, a mother of eight children. Ramos lived in Southern California, but spent her summers with her mother in East Oakland, and suspected that a blue sedan that pulled up to their house was arriving to sell drugs to her 16-year-old son. Ramos and her mother Blanca Velasco then pursued the alleged drug dealers' car in their own vehicle, hoping to confront them.
Ramos did get out of the car once it stopped, and confronted the alleged dealers. One reportedly waved a gun at her, at which point she ran back to her vehicle. But she was then shot in the back several times.
Her mother, Velasco, pulled up to the suspect car, not seeing that her daughter Ramos had been shot, and she tells the Chronicle they waved a gun at her too. She then drove the car back to where Ramos was, and discovered she was lying in a pool of blood and surrounded by bullet casings.
“I left my car there, I ran to her,” Velasco said to the Chronicle. “I was holding her in my arms. I told her to breathe. And she did. She tried really hard.”
Ramos was declared dead shortly after police arrived.
As a sad footnote, it turns out Ramos herself had been a drug abuser, and had temporarily lost custody of her children. But she had been in recovery for six years, and had reconnected with her mother in recent years.
Velsaco was able to provide police with the license plate number of the vehicle the suspects had been driving. Police detained and questioned 19-year-old Isaiah Gomez, who is facing felony accessory charges, but is currently released with an ankle monitor. Two other suspects have been arrested, but both are minors and their names have not been released.
Related: Sideshow Near Fruitvale BART In Oakland Leads to Shootout That Injures Five [SFist]
Image: Google Street View
