Friends and relatives of 25-year-old Rose McFadden rushed to the scene of her death within an hour of her murder. They stood and watched police in total disbelief that the violence in Richmond had taken the life of this mother of four.
"It's out of control, it's out of control - because if it can happen to Rose, it can happen to anybody," said McFadden's friend Kim Green.
McFadden and a 24-year-old man were sitting in a car, waiting for the gate of the apartment complex parking lot to open, when they were gunned down around 3 a.m.. It happened on Nevin Avenue in Central Richmond, an area notorious for gang activity. Half of this year's murders have happened in the Central District. But police don't think these two victims had any ties to gangs.
"There's no indication they were having any type of a lifestyle that would bring them into that kind of a situation. It appears they might have just been in the wrong place at the wrong time," said Richmond Police Det. Nicole Abetkov.
McFadden's friends say they had just seen her yesterday in church - where she was rewarded for bringing in so many new members. Crystal Holloway was one of her recent recruits.
"We've been trying to get together for the past month and now it is not going to happen at all. Now I regret that," said McFadden's friend Crystal Holloway.
McFadden is the 22nd person to be murdered in Richmond this year. There were 21 murders in all of last year. In the past week, police and the sheriff's office have formed a task force to try and bring an end to this escalation in violence. So it was especially tough for them to get this morning's call.
"Obviously it's not a good feeling. So this is something that all of us collaboratively want to make stop, you know, not happen anymore, but unfortunately there is just so much we can do," said Abetkov.
Violent crime is up in several communities in the Bay Area. The police chief in Richmond is trying to set up a meeting with the chiefs of San Francisco, Oakland and San Jose to discuss ways to address the disturbing trend.
