A 27-year-old man fatally shot earlier this year just over the Berkeley border in Oakland will be remembered Saturday at a rally and fundraiser.
The event, set for 2 p.m., was organized by the More Foundation, which is run by Carol Jones, the mother of the man who was killed. Patrick Demarco Scott Jr. was shot near his Market Street bus stop minutes after he left home for work Feb. 3. Authorities have said only that “An unknown person approached him and fired multiple shots, fatally striking him.”
The event will begin with a prayer circle, at 62nd and Market streets, at the AC Transit line 88 bus stop where the shooting happened. Afterward, at the Morning Star Baptist Church at 1136 34th St. in Oakland, a memorial plaque will be mounted to the wall above a tree planted earlier this year in memory of Scott.
Jones said there will be food and drinks at the rally, and that she will collect donations for a private investigator to help look into her son’s case.
She said other attendees will include parents whose children have died, agencies related to gun violence and suicide prevention, “church family and friends,” Oakland city officials and members of the Oakland Police Department.
Jones spoke at length to Berkeleyside in July about the loss of her son.
“Losing someone you carried nine months, it puts your body in shock,” she said. “It’s like your life is at a standstill.”
Jones told Berkeleyside she has relied heavily on prayer to get her through each day. Even sometimes, as her pastor taught her, “just a sentence prayer,” saying, “‘Touch me, Lord,’ or ‘Hold me, Lord, move right now. Something quick,’ she has thought, ‘it feels like I’m about to snap.’”
No arrests have been made in the case, despite substantial rewards, including $30,000 from the FBI and OPD, and an additional reward from Scott’s family.
“We need the public’s help,” said FBI Assistant Special Agent in Charge Bertram Fairries in July, in a prepared statement. “Someone can help us identify the shooter who took Patrick’s life that morning. The FBI is committed to assisting Oakland with this case. We will not allow our community to be terrorized by violence in our streets.”
Oakland Police Chief Anne E. Kirkpatrick said at the time, in the same statement, that “identifying and arresting those responsible” will help police “bring closure to the families of violent crime.”
Jones told Berkeleyside she hopes anyone in the neighborhood who knows what happened will share those details with police.
“They saw it, but they are scared to speak out and speak up,” she said. “That’s what we are having problems with now.”
The Oakland Police Department Homicide Section can be reached at 510-238-3821, and the FBI San Francisco Division is at 415-553-7400. OPD’s confidential tip line is at 510-238-7950. Donations to Scott’s family can be made at Citibank through routing number 321171184, account number 42002321919.
