$10K reward for information in highway shooting death of 2-year-old Fremont boy
OAKLAND, Calif. - A $10,000 reward was announced on Friday for information leading to the arrest in the shooting death of Jasper Wu.
The 23-month-old boy was shot and killed by a stray bullet on I-880 in Oakland last weekend on his way home to Fremont.
He was asleep in the car as his mother drove with two other children inside. No one else was hurt.
"Stray bullets hit this little baby," said Carl Chan, president of Oakland's Chinatown Chamber of Commerce, who along with the San Francisco Police Officers Association and Burma Superstar restaurant, pitched in for the reward. "This little baby will never wake up again."
Chan added that he wanted to put up billboards on the highway with numbers for people to report crimes as well as stepped-up police patrols throughout the city and more officers walking through Chinatown.
His mother sent a statement, which was read at the Friday news conference. She said her family was "heartbroken" and "devastated" about her son but she was so grateful at the "outpouring of love" from the community. She pleaded with the shooters, or anyone with information about the shooting, to come forward.
Jasper's death was among the 119 homicide victims in Oakland this year, a number that Oakland Police Chief LeRonne Armstrong said "sickened him."
"This violence must stop," Armstrong said.
He said he hoped the reward money would help bring information to arrest someone for the "senseless act" of killing a sleeping baby on his way home. And he vowed to work with the California Highway Patrol to find out who was behind the highway shooting.
He didn't give many updates on the investigation, saying it was CHP's case, but he did say he would love some extra cameras on the freeways to help solve crimes.
"Any additional technology would be welcome," Armstrong said. "There's a need for cameras in Oakland."
In addition to the reward, the Oakland Chinatown Chamber of Commerce set up a GoFundMe to raise money to help with funeral expenses for Jasper. It's the only account authorized by the family.
If anyone has information, the CHP is urging public members help provide investigative leads to detectives by calling the Golden Gate Division Investigative Tip-Line at (707) 917-4491.
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