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Mother of 8 visiting Oakland executed in the street after confronting drug dealers targeting her kids

August 19, 2024 | | Print Article

A trip to grandma’s house in Oakland ended in tragedy for a mother of eight, fatally shot after taking a stand against drug dealers.

“Her kids were her world to her.”

(Video Credit: KTVU)

Footage obtained by KTVU captured the dramatic scene as 33-year-old Maria Ramos’ effort to confront a trio alleged to have sold two of her children marijuana vape pens ended with her being fatally shot in the streets of Oakland, California.

“Our plan was to tell them stop coming to our house,” the victim’s mother Blanca Velasco told KTVU after it was reported that she drove her daughter in pursuit of the suspects during the two o’clock hour on the afternoon of Aug. 7.

When they caught up to the car, allegedly driven by 19-year-old Isaiah Gomez, Ramos could be seen approaching at which point she was said to have used pepper spray on the occupants before one, reportedly a 16-year-old, got out of the car and allegedly shot her.

Velasco, who drove off when a gun was pointed at her, returned to find her daughter motionless and explained, “I started rubbing her chest and telling her, ‘Lupita, breathe! You know, we still need you. You have eight kids.’ And she tried.”

“It just happened so quick. I saw her running. I heard a bang. And then I saw her going down,” she told the San Francisco Chronicle.

Following the tragedy, Oakland Police Department Deputy Chief of Police Frederick Shavies told the press, “Within minutes, our patrol team and our special resources team sprung into action, identifying the vehicle, locating the vehicle, and then quickly taking three suspects into custody within the next 12 hours.”

In addition to Gomez who was charged as an accessory by Alameda County prosecutors and released with an ankle monitor, the alleged shooter and another minor were arrested. The 16-year-old believed to have shot Ramos had been charged with murder and was being held at Alameda County Juvenile Hall.

“They should change the way they live over here. We don’t have to be killing people for no reason, you know?” the victim’s aunt Carmen Beltran told KTVU. “She left her eight kids, and that’s really hard.”

“There’s another way to fix the problem. You have some problem with somebody, you don’t have to shoot nobody,” she went on.

The tragedy that left Ramos’ seven daughters, aged one- to 15-years-old, and her seven-year-old son without their mother took place the day after the Oakland Police Officers Association called for Mayor Sheng Thao (D) to resign amid the ongoing crime crisis.

Thao defended her record in a public statement where she argued, “It’s unfortunate that the POA is obviously playing politics. Right now, during this very sensitive time, we need to come together. We see that what we are working on in terms of the comprehensive approach for public safety is working.”

As even California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) had acknowledged the problem in Oakland where the police force had been diminished and stymied, Thao continued to argue that violent crime was on the decline as she faced a recall effort as well.

Remembering her daughter, Velasco told KTVU, “She was a cheerful person, a very lovable person to her and her kids. You know she was very lovable. She liked taking her kids out all the time. Her kids were her world to her.”

She also recounted to the Chronicle how the family had planned to move to Merced the following year and her daughter had routinely advised about saving on groceries and back-to-school shopping, “I feel like she was preparing me for this. She was showing me how to take care of so many kids, (because) she knew I would be keeping them.”

Kevin Haggerty
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