Community Corner
Fundraiser For Family Of Fremont Toddler Shot To Death
A GoFundMe page has been set up to defray unexpected expenses for his family.
FREMONT, CA — Jasper Wu, a 1-year-old Fremont boy, was sleeping in a car seat on the way home Saturday afternoon when a bullet hit him in the head, killing him, according to the Alameda County coroner's bureau and a GoFundMe page set up to defray unexpected expenses for his family.
The shooting happened shortly after 2 p.m. on Interstate Highway 880 in Oakland.
Jasper is another victim of violence in Oakland, where 119 people have died in violence this year, most of which has been gun violence.
Find out what's happening in Fremontfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Jasper was rushed to UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital Oakland, where he died. Jasper's family is asking for the people who fired the bullet to surrender to authorities. The California Highway Patrol is handling the investigation.
"The Oakland Chinatown Chamber of Commerce is disheartened to learn that another life has succumbed due to violence, especially one so young," Arlene Lum wrote on the GoFundMe page set up for the Wu family.
Find out what's happening in Fremontfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
"(Chamber of Commerce) President Carl Chan met with the family and was further saddened when he was told that Jasper never had a chance to meet his father because his father went back to China and has not been able to return to the United States to be with his wife and see Jasper's birth because of the COVID travel restrictions," Lum said.
Jasper's father Jihao Wu has since been able to get permission to come to the U.S. to make arrangements for his son's funeral.
CHP Capt. Mike Lehman, in a recorded news conference Monday about the shooting, did not challenge a reporter's statement that there have been 76 shootings recorded on highways in Oakland in the past 12 months, but he insisted the public should feel safe driving on highways in the city.
When pressed by the same reporter about why people should feel safe given the statistics, Lehman said, "The reason you should feel safe are the chances of this happening are not high."
Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to please call the CHP investigation tip line at (707) 917-4491.
Patch is a GoFundMe partner. Donate to Jasper Wu's family at this link.
