A beloved auto shop owner has been shot at his Oakland business, amid calls for the district attorney and mayor to resign amid rising violence.
Grandfather Aristeo Zambrano, 68, was nearing retirement when he was fatally shot Feb. 3 at his auto shop, Bay City Alternators, in Oakland.
His death was the city’s 10th homicide this year — and two more killings have been reported since then — as District Attorney Pamela Price and Mayor Sheng Thao are under pressure to resign over record violence and crime rates.
Critics say violent crime has increased on their watch, up nearly 20 percent in 2023 compared to 2019, with businesses including In-N-Out closing their doors in the city.
Since Zambrano’s murder, two more murders have occurred in the city: Wai Tsui – who was reportedly beaten to death by a neighbor – and an unknown man. according to Mercury Newswhich brings the total to 12.
Zambrano, 68, was a beloved grandfather and pillar of the community. He was about to retire before he was killed
Zambrano was shot dead in his Bay City Alternators repair shop, which he started in the 1990s
Zambrano had been told several times by his family that they were concerned about his safety in the crime-ridden neighborhood.
The 68-year-old was a former farm worker, known for his work alongside Cesar Chavez in the United Farm Workers movement, who became an auto shop owner.
He moved to Oakland from Michoacan, Mexico in the 1970s and became a pillar of the community, running his repair shop for three decades.
His daughter Maria Ayala told SFist: “It’s not fair that he worked so hard all his life, he never hurt anyone.”
He is survived by three daughters and six grandchildren.
Author Miriam Pawel wrote about “Oakland’s Tenth Murder of the Year.”
The motives behind the shooting remain unclear, but he was pronounced dead at the scene.
Critics of District Attorney Price and Mayor Tao have launched recall campaigns for both of them, citing record homicide rates in their calls for resignation.
Mayor Sheng Thao is facing calls to resign due to the city’s high crime rate
Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Y. Price is facing calls to resign over the county’s high crime rate
Price is accused of allowing violent crimes to become rampant in Alameda County by enacting liberal policies, such as lower prison sentences, in an effort to promote “equality.”
Preliminary reports from Oakland indicate that by 2023, violent crime will increase by 21 percent, theft by 38 percent and auto theft by 45 percent.
Videos of violent carjackings have become commonplace. Last summer, a gruesome video surfaced of a woman being pistol-whipped and dragged across the gravel by two thugs as part of a carjacking.
The unidentified woman suffered serious injuries in the attack on International Boulevard, police investigating in the East Bay city said at the time.
Last month, Oakland’s only In-N-Out Burger restaurant announced it will close after 18 years, despite still making a healthy profit, because customers and staff are “unsafe” due to rising crime rates, the company said.
It’s the only In-N-Out burger to close in the chain’s 72-year history, with the departure putting even more pressure on Oakland officials, including Mayor Sheng Thao, a progressive who previously voted to eliminate the financing of the police.
Under Price’s leadership, crime has continued to rise, up almost 20 percent in 2023 compared to 2019
Price was elected district attorney in 2022 on a progressive platform that promised shorter prison sentences, more lenient criminal charges and a refusal to charge juveniles as adults.
A leaked memo in early 2023 detailed how she tried to fulfill her campaign promise.
The guidance stated that probation should be the “presumptive offer” during plea negotiations, and that low prison sentences should be offered in cases that do not qualify for probation – although almost every crime in the California penal code is eligible for a probation.
Price herself was the victim of a robbery from her car in October, when thieves made off with her laptop.
Earlier this month, Governor Gavin Newsom announced its plan to send prosecutors and California Highway Patrol officers to Oakland to assist in a targeted crackdown on rising crime in the San Francisco Bay Area city.