One adult and two teens have been arrested in connection with the fatal shooting of a California mother of eight.
Maria Ramos, 33, was found shot in front of her home on August 7, Oakland police said. Around 2:30 p.m., officers discovered her suffering from a fatal gunshot wound on the 5600 block of Hilton Street in Oakland, according to CBS News Bay Area.
According to NBC News Bay Area, Ramos and her mother, Blanca Velasco, followed a sedan they believed had just sold marijuana vapes to her children. They pulled up beside the parked vehicle in their SUV. As Ramos approached the vehicle to confront its occupants, someone inside the vehicle fired multiple shots, hitting her.
“I just saw her taking off, and then I heard the bang,” Velasco said. “I pressed on the gas to position my car in front of theirs to shield my daughter. I saw her going down, but I thought she was taking cover.”
On Friday, Oakland police arrested the suspects in the sedan: one young adult male and two teenage boys.
“Within minutes, our patrol team and our special resources team sprung into action, identifying the vehicle, locating it, and quickly taking three suspects into custody within the next 12 hours,” said Deputy Chief of Police Frederick Shavies.
CBS News Bay Area reports that authorities believe the shooter may have been a minor, raising concerns that the shooter may not be fully prosecuted due to his age.
Ramos was a mother of eight children, ages 1 to 15. She had been visiting her mother from Los Angeles to discuss moving Velasco into her home.
Velasco told CBS News Bay Area that she still plans to move herself and Ramos’s children out of Oakland to provide a safer environment.
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[Featured image: Maria Ramos/GFM]
