Tributes Pour In For San Leandro High Grad Who Was Murdered

SAN LEANDRO, CA —The San Leandro Unified School District (SLUSD) has offered a tribute on social media to 2015 San Leandro High graduate Hassani Bell, a 23-year-old activist for social justice who died Monday, two days after being shot several times in a North Oakland barbershop.

Bell's sister Tori Bell also has started a GoFundMe page for her brother, who was the victim of a high-profile shooting at the Extravagant Grooming Lounge on College Avenue. Police said two assailants entered the barbershop and opened fire, at least two victims were hospitalized as a result of the shooting. Oakland Police Chief LeRonne Armstrong toured the site of the shooting on Monday.

On Wednesday, SLUSD tweeted a tribute to Bell, whom it called a "fearless warrior for social justice," who was "killed by a senseless act of violence."

In the tribute, the SLUSD said Bell had been a part of San Leandro High's Social Justice Academy and had gone on to attend San Francisco State, where he had become a campus leader while pursuing a degree in ethnic studies.

"Hassani was truly an exceptional young man, and it was an honor to bear witness to his greatness," said Erica Viray Santos, the Social Justice Academy coordinator/teacher.

Santos said Bell was devoted to uplifting the communities to which he belonged, and that he led events and campaigns relating to the killings of Mike Brown and Eric Garner, who both died from acts of police violence.

According to the SLUSD, Bell continued his activism at San Francisco State, where he made national headlines as one of four students who led a hunger strike that resulted in restored funding for the ethnic studies program at the university.

By Thursday afternoon, the GoFundMe page had received $11,447 of its $30,000 goal. Under the heading "A Special Life Taken Too Soon," Tori Bell posted a tribute to her brother.

"I can't believe I'll never see you smile again. I'll never hold you in my arms again. I can say 'I love you' but I'll never hear it back," Tori Bell wrote. "You were my protector, my best friend, my brother. You are my heart. You mean the world to me and you are gone and I can't bring you back. I miss my little brother and he was taken from me."

Tori Bell pointed out that her brother devoted his life to the community and to people who are impacted by gun violence.

"Sadly, the same issues he was devoted to change, took his life," Tori Bell wrote.