An artist working on a community art project in West Oakland, Calif., was shot dead Tuesday, stirring grief and disbelief, CBS San Francisco reports.
The victim was identified as Antonio Ramos, a muralist with the Attitudinal Healing Connection. Ramos was painting a mural designed by students of an Oakland middle school as part of a beautification project when he was killed, according to the news station.
“I had the pleasure and honor of working alongside him on a huge mural underneath the 580 freeway on San Pablo Ave in Oakland,” one artist wrote in an Instagram post about Ramos, CBS notes. “Antonio’s positive attitude and work ethic was truly unparalleled.”
Ramos was one of many artists who were working on another mural planned for West Street under Interstate Highway 580 when he was shot, according to the site. A police representative said that officers responded to gunshots on West Street just after 10:30 a.m., where they found Ramos with gunshot wounds. He was taken to the hospital but was pronounced dead.
According to the report, a man walked up to the area where the artists were working, shot Ramos and walked away. Currently investigators are trying to figure out what prompted the shooting. Oakland Police Chief Sean Whent said that the shooting was “totally unacceptable,” describing Ramos as “someone who was trying to make a positive difference in this city.”
Officers are currently interviewing witnesses, including artists who were with Ramos at the time of the shooting, and reviewing surveillance footage.
Read more at CBS San Francisco.