Before you read:
Three men have been arrested and charged in connection with the fatal shooting of 23-month-old Jasper Wu in Oakland, California, last year.
Jasper was returning home to Fremont with his mother, aunt and two cousins at around 2 p.m. on Nov. 6, 2021, when a stray bullet pierced their car on Interstate 880. The bullet passed through their front windshield, hitting the toddler in the forehead.
The incident, which saw two other vehicles exchanging fire, has been revealed as a rival gang shootout.
Trevor Green, 22, and Ivory Bivins, 24, drove a dark Infiniti G35, while Johnny Jackson, 34, and Keison Lee — now deceased — drove a dark gray Nissan Altima.
Amid the chaos, a bullet fired from the Infiniti missed the Nissan Altima. It instead traveled across the highway toward southbound vehicles, striking Jasper’s family’s car.
In addition to murder, Green, Bivins and Jackson have each been charged with shooting at an occupied vehicle and possession of a firearm by a felon. Green and Bivins also face counts of conspiracy to commit a crime and criminal street gang conspiracy.
Green and Bivins were first arrested on warrants for another incident in Contra Costa County in March. Jackson, on the other hand, was arrested on Wednesday and is set to be arraigned today.
Alameda County District Attorney Nancy E. O’Malley vowed to bring justice to Jasper’s family at a press conference on Thursday.
Little Jasper was just 23 months old. Like responsible parents, he was strapped in his car seat. He was sound asleep. Suddenly, the unthinkable happened. He died instantly. How could this horrific tragedy happen? It happened because two rival gangs were having a rolling gun battle across a freeway at 2 o’clock in the afternoon.
O’Malley said Green and Bivins were members of criminal street gang “Chopper City.” On the other hand, Jackson and Lee came from “Eddy Rock,” also out of San Francisco.
Through a translator, Jasper’s father welcomed the development at the press conference.
“At some point they thought it was time to give up, but when they heard about this, they were so excited again, excited, happy, but also very sad,” said Carl Chan, president of the Oakland Chinatown Chamber of Commerce. “It was for them mixed feelings. First thing is first, they were very happy and excited to see this press conference of this case but at the same time they feel like this is bringing back the memory of day one of what happened.”
A GoFundMe page organized to support Jasper’s family was able to raise nearly $250,000.
