City Government

Double Homicide Claims Life of 1-yr-Old

Published

12 years ago

August 8, 2013

Hours after the city celebrated “National Night Out” – an annual national movement against crime – a double homicide early Wednesday morning claimed the lives of 20–year-old Andrew Thomas and his one-year-old son Drew Jackson.

Marking the 60^th and 61^st homicides of the year, the killing of another child in Oakland comes days after the funeral services of 8-year-old Alaysha Carradine, who was shot and killed while attending a friend’s sleepover.

Thomas, a Fresno resident, was in town for the funeral of his 18-yr-old cousin Alquino Rivera, killed last Saturday.

According to Oakland Police Department Media Spokesperson Johnna Watson, a gunman fired shots through a back bedroom window, striking the two victims.

Thomas was pronounced dead at the scene while baby Drew was taken to

Drew Jackson, 16-months-old

a nearby hospital and pronounced dead a short time after.

Watson would not confirm whether or not the shootings were related to the earlier killing, but a suspect in connection to Rivera’s murder had been taken into custody.

Community members are enraged by the senseless killings that are more often taking the lives of innocent children. Since 2011, 21 of Oakland’s homicide victims have been under the age of 18; Jackson was the youngest at 16 months old.

“The senseless act of killing speaks to the depth of Oakland’s violence epidemic. If we cannot feel safe in our home then where can we feel safe at,” said Sokhom Mao, Vice-chairman of Oakland’s Citizens’ Police Review Board.

Rev. Harold Mayberry of First AME Oakland said that an end must come to the “negative culture” rapidly running throughout the Oakland community, urging spiritual leaders to work with officials to find an end to the problem.

Andrew Thomas, 20,

“It is important for the faith community to join with elected officials and people across the community in a grassroots effort to address the situation, which continues to rob families of children and loved ones,” Mayberry said.

Felicia Johnson, the victims’ aunt, would not comment about the investigation, and asked for the media to respect the family’s privacy.

“Just pray for us,” Johnson said.

A press conference was held Wednesday night, where District 7 Councilmember Larry Reid offered his condolences and support to the family, as did clergy members, including the Baptist Ministers Union and the Pastors of Oakland.

Reid said he was tired of the city’s talk about putting a plan together to reduce the violence.

“We have more plans that we need. What does this say about us as a city when we cannot protect our children?” he asked.

“It’s another sad day in Oakland.”

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Remembering George Floyd

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — Minnesota State Attorney General Keith Ellison acknowledges that the Floyd case five years ago involved a situation in which due process was denied, and five years later, the president is currently dismissing “due process. “The Minnesota Atty General also says, “Trump is trying to attack constitutional rule, attacking congressional authority and judicial decision-making.” George Floyd was an African American man killed by police who knocked on his neck and on his back, preventing him from breathing.

Published

6 days ago

June 2, 2025

Oakland Post

Mural showing the portrait of George Floyd in Mauerpark in Berlin. To the left of the portrait the lettering "I can't Breathe" was added, on the right side the three hashtags #GeorgeFloyd, #Icantbreathe and #Sayhisname. The mural was completed by Eme Street Art (facebook name) / Eme Free Thinker (signature) on 29 May 2020. (Wikimedia Commons)

By April Ryan
BlackPressUSA Newswire

“The president’s been very clear he has no intentions of pardoning Derek Chauvin, and it’s not a request that we’re looking at,” confirms a senior staffer at the Trump White House. That White House response results from public hope, including from a close Trump ally, Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene. The timing of Greene’s hopes coincides with the Justice Department’s recent decision to end oversight of local police accused of abuse. It also falls on the fifth anniversary of the police-involved death of George Floyd on May 25th. The death sparked national and worldwide outrage and became a transitional moment politically and culturally, although the outcry for laws on police accountability failed.

The death forced then-Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden to focus on deadly police force and accountability. His efforts while president to pass the George Floyd Justice in policing act failed. The death of George Floyd also put a spotlight on the Black community, forcing then-candidate Biden to choose a Black woman running mate. Kamala Harris ultimately became vice president of the United States alongside Joe Biden. Minnesota State Attorney General Keith Ellison prosecuted the cases against the officers involved in the death of Floyd. He remembers,” Trump was in office when George Floyd was killed, and I would blame Trump for creating a negative environment for police-community relations. Remember, it was him who said when the looting starts, the shooting starts, it was him who got rid of all the consent decrees that were in place by the Obama administration.”

In 2025, Police-involved civilian deaths are up by “about 100 to about 11 hundred,” according to Ellison. Ellison acknowledges that the Floyd case five years ago involved a situation in which due process was denied, and five years later, the president is currently dismissing “due process. “The Minnesota Atty General also says, “Trump is trying to attack constitutional rule, attacking congressional authority and judicial decision-making.” George Floyd was an African-American man killed by police who knocked on his neck and on his back, preventing him from breathing. During those minutes on the ground, Floyd cried out for his late mother several times. Police subdued Floyd for an alleged counterfeit $20 bill.