Oakland artist murdered while working on mural honored at vigil
WEST OAKLAND, Calif. (KGO) -- Friends and colleagues gathered Wednesday morning to honor an artist who was murdered in Oakland while doing what he loved. Antonio Ramos was shot and killed while working on a mural that his colleagues are now vowing to finish.
There were a lot of tears at the Aztec ceremony held for Ramos; a person who many say had a beautiful heart and spirit. The large crowd gathered to pay tribute to the young man who was just trying to make his neighborhood better when family and friends say he was killed for no reason.
The 27-year-old was shot under a freeway overpass in West Oakland on Tuesday morning.
"If you look underneath this freeway, you know, you see often a lot of pain," said Jumoke Hinton Hodge with Oakland Unified School District. "You see people who are homeless. Oftentimes you see a lot of dirt, you see grime. So yeah, he was beautifying this small space inside of West Oakland."
Ramos was working with a nonprofit called Attitudinal Healing Connection to transform the neighborhood he called home.
"Antonio was just so enthusiastic coming out here, volunteering his time, helping out, showing up early every day," said artist David Platford. "He was just a joy to be around."
Fellow muralists say Ramos was simply doing what he loved when a man started messing with their supplies. Police say an argument then led the suspect to shoot Ramos in broad daylight.
Those shocked and in mourning over his death are burning candles and bringing flowers in his memory.
"He worked on a mural on San Pablo, you know, a lot of different murals around here," said the victim's friend Patrick Jackson.
Muralists say they plan to paint Ramos' picture at the very spot where he lost his life.
VIDEO: Friends mourn loss of artist killed while working on Oakland mural
"A lot of us are just speechless, we were totally unprepared for something like this to happen," said Platford.
A lot of people are still paying their tribute to Ramos at the scene where he was shot and later died.
In the meantime, police they will be interviewing witnesses, including those who worked with Ramos on Tuesday. And they're reviewing at surveillance camera footage from around the area. They ask anyone with information to call the police department.
ArtEsteem is raising funds to complete the remaining murals through an Indiegogo campaign.
Click here to donate to the Oakland Superheroes Mural Project Indiegogo campaign.
Click here to make a donation to help Ramos' family with funeral costs.
