Mother remembers son’s glow nearly 2 years after unsolved Oakland homicide

OAKLAND, Calif. - A homicide case in Oakland has gone unsolved for almost two years.

A 25-year-old man was shot and killed while he sat in his car on Clara Street.

On Thursday afternoon, Antoinette Buckley put up balloons and photos of her son Kwame Anton Bell at the site of where he was killed.

She describes her son as a kind young man with a promising future.

"He just had this glow, this radiance," says Buckely.

Bell's radiance is gone. He was shot and killed here on Feb. 11, 2019. 

"I miss that smile. I miss that, 'Mom, let me tell you what I did today. Let me tell you what I accomplished today," says Buckley.

It was 9:15 p.m. Bell was parked on Clara Street, near Interstate 880 in East Oakland.

Police say a 2000's Infiniti SUV pulled up next to Bell's car.  The passenger in the SUV pointed an assault rifle at Bell and shot him multiple times. Bell died at the scene.

"I couldn't get here on time to tell my baby goodbye. I couldn't give him that last hug," says Buckley. 

Police say they only have general descriptions of the two men in the SUV.

Buckley says her son made a music video shortly before his death. His dream was to own a recording studio.

He worked for UPS and had plans to attend college to study law and real estate.

Family members say they don't know who would want to harm him, but suspect envy may be a motive.

"Something's going to break, jealousy, stuff like that. What goes around, comes around," says Betty Winzer, Bell's grandmother. 

Investigators say they haven't established a motive for what they describe as a senseless act.

"It really breaks my heart to see mothers and other family members to be broken hearted over the loss of life. I really ask that people come forward and help us," says Interim Deputy Chief Drennon Lindsey with Oakland Police

Buckley says there will be no peace until  those responsible are held accountable. 

"My while life is turned upside down and I don't know what to do," says Buckley, "I can't rest and I won't rest until justice is served." 

Police say there have been six more homicides in the area since Bell's death. Three of those cases were solved.

Oakland police and Crime Stoppers are offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction in Bell's case.