Andre Shumake's son will recover, but as he told ABC7, the incident brings new perspective and passion to the pastor's mission.
"We were blessed in the sense that God spared my son, in this case," he says.
Reverend Andre Shumake, with the Richmond Improvement Association, is usually the one who comforts others who have lost loved ones to gun violence, but now he is the one needing comfort after his 27-year-old son was shot multiple times in a North Richmond intersection.
Police have no motive for the shooting.
"For me now, to be in the position where my own child has fallen prey to that element, that mindset that's out on the streets, is indescribable," Shumake says.
Last Monday, his oldest son was riding a bike near the intersection of Market and Giaramita Streets in North Richmond when someone pulled up and opened fire.
"The victim was on a bicycle and going through a crosswalk when a gun was pointed at him. Apparently some shots were fired and that's when the victim went down," explained Jimmy Lee with the Contra Costa Sheriff's Department.
When deputies arrived, Shumake's son had already been picked up by a passerby and transported to a local hospital. He suffered six gunshot wounds, but is expected to survive.
"It can happen to anybody, anybody's family, but they don't expect it," Bessie Lyons says.
Lyons' son Thomas was murdered at a Richmond bus stop four years ago.
She says, "If everybody in Richmond, these churches that's out here and these pastors come together, there wouldn't be all this shooting and killing and stuff like that."
Kevin Thomas is a pastor in a neighboring community.
He says, "It won't stop unless those who are in the community who are leaders come together collectively and get on one accord and say, 'We need to do something.'"
Police are still searching for a suspect in the shooting of Shumake's son.
"I want to say to that young man and whoever else was involved in that, I forgive you. We forgive you. Our family forgives you for what you've done," Shumake says.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Contra Costa Sheriff's Department.
