Fellow artists have described the shooting as random, saying Antonio Ramos, 27, had had an argument with a passerby who wasn't part of the group working on the Mural Project. The argument quickly escalated, and the offender used his gun on Ramos and ran away.
"How do you do something positive and still get shot for it?" a childhood friend of Ramos told the San Francisco Chronicle.
Many took to Twitter to express their sorrow and a profound feeling of injustice.
Ramos died of multiple gunshot wounds and now the team he worked with is gathering funds to hold a funeral for him.
#AntonioRamos murdered in #Oakland while painting boy with powers to heal and stop violence. @oaklandpoliceca pic.twitter.com/T5e8Bit0FCโ alan wang (@AlanWangABC7) September 30, 2015
The Oakland Super Heroes Mural Project, that Ramos was part of, was a collaboration of 60 artists and West Oakland middle-school students. It was organized by community group Attitudinal Healing Connection. It's a follow up to a 2014 project, when West Oakland Middle School students re-imagined themselves as superheroes that solve problems in their communities.
Antonio Ramos vigil at @AHC_oakland mural on West @ 35th in West #Oakland #Prayers #Healing #StopGunsNOW pic.twitter.com/STBRiHGZKeโ Joel Tena (@joeltena) September 30, 2015
Prayers we should never have to pray. #antonioramos #Oakland https://t.co/b1vRbEHOCs โ #ImmigrantsArePeople (@jazzpastord) September 30, 2015
Crowd attending prayer service & vigil for #AntonioRamos spills out on West St, numbers in the hundreds #Oakland pic.twitter.com/hb7iudyEUl โ Allie Rasmus KTVU (@arasmusKTVU) September 30, 2015
Stopped by that mural on my way home last night. Seeing his unfinished portion moved me. #AntonioRamos #Oakland pic.twitter.com/92XJvh26it โ Christopher Michael (@kingchrxs) September 30, 2015
Although everyone close to Ramos is still in shock, those working on the project, plan to resume painting on Monday.
Comment: Terribly sad outcome for this young man. Pray the killer is apprehended.