A 15-year-old boy was shot and killed in Oakland Monday while walking to soccer practice with friends.
The shooting happened just after 4:15 p.m. along the 1400 block of 100th Avenue, police said.
After receiving multiple reports of a shooting in the area, responding officers found the victim, identified by friends and family as Derbing Alvarado, suffering from at least one gunshot wound, police said. Derbing was taken to a local hospital, but he did not survive.
The sophomore at Cristo Rey De La Salle was walking with a group of four friends on 100th Avenue when they were approached by two men.
"The next thing you know some guy comes up with a gun and he tells my friend to take off his backpack or he was going to shoot him," said Aaron, a friend and witness.
Derbing's friends said he tried to defend himself and was shot four times. Aaron and others took cover at a nearby neighbor's house who let them in.
"I had to cover my ears, it was quite loud," Aaron said. "I didn’t know what to do. I still don’t believe what’s happened. I just had to run. I was really scared."
Local
Friends and family members gathered Tuesday to pray in the same spot where Derbing was killed. Derbing's father, Derbing Jose Alvarado, said his son was his treasure and that he wants the killers prosecuted. Friends were still trying to make sense of the tragic loss.
"It's hard to accept that he is really, really gone," friend Linda Chavez said. "He was the most genuine and important person to have as a friend in my life...I can't believe that his life just went blank after an instant just because he was going to practice and just because of a backpack."
Get a weekly recap of the latest San Francisco Bay Area housing news. Sign up for NBC Bay Area’s Housing Deconstructed newsletter.
Derbing's school was providing counselors, grief workshops and activities to help students process what happened. It also issued a statement urging lawmakers to find justice: "...the justice that removes the never ending deaths of gun violence from our communities."
Adults who watched Derbing grow up, including Gabriel Solano, his former soccer coach, also called for justice as police look for those responsible.
"He is a good kid," Solano said. "He doesn’t do bad words, he doesn’t dress like a gang member, nothing."
Those who loved Derbing are remembering the teen soccer player who would have turned 16 next month as funny and kind. They said he also had big dreams of going to college and getting a job – dreams friends and family are devastated won't come true.
"I loved him," friend Nathan Montes said. "That was my best friend. He was a good man. He didn’t deserve that."
An investigation is ongoing.
Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to contact the Oakland Police Department's Homicide Section at 510-238-3821 or the tip line at 510-238-7950. Videos or photos can be sent to cidvideos@oaklandca.gov.
