California boy, 7, is orphaned after his dad gunned down his mom Alonna Gallon at work before being shot dead by police at Toyota dealership
A seven-year-old Bay Area boy was orphaned after his father shot his mother at work before being shot dead by police.
Alonna Gallon, 24, was fatally shot by her ex-partner in what police reported as an act of domestic violence. Thursday at the Berkeley Toyota service center around 11:15 a.m.
Police arrived on the scene within minutes, where five Berkeley officers confronted and shot the yet-unidentified man. Two other employees were in the building at the time of the shooting but were not injured.
The couple’s son, King Walker, 7, is left to mourn the death of his parents with his grandmother, Alonna’s mother, Yuvonda Gallon.
Describing the heartbreaking moment she had to tell her grandson about their deaths, Yuvonda said: ‘I told him his mother and father were gone, he just put his head back and said, ‘No, they’re not.’ And after he cried, we all burst into tears.”
According to the grandmother, her daughter and King had a special bond because she constantly put her son above himself
Alonna is described as a kind, caring and shy person, ‘who had a lot of love to give and more life to live’
Berkeley and Albany police were called to the scene of the shooting, where they shot the father and the gunman who killed Alonna.
The boy’s parents were divorced at the time of the shooting and reportedly had co-parenting rights with him.
Alonna’s mother said she had previously made a “conscious decision to distance herself” from the father “due to reckless behavior.”
She added that her daughter did her best to make their co-parenting relationship as healthy as possible, and that the father had made several attempts to get back together with her daughter.
Yuvonda told KTVU: ‘I would like to die before my children. “I don’t want to see any of my children, I don’t want any parent to ever have to go through this.”
Alonna is described as a kind, caring and shy person, ‘who had a lot of love to give and more life to live’.
According to the grandmother, her daughter and King had a special bond because she constantly put her son above himself.
She had been working at the dealership for three years, where her mother said she worked in the call center. Yuvonda told The Mercury News her late daughter also had two other jobs at a car rental company and a supermarket.
Yuvonda has one GoFundMe page entitled ‘Supporting King Walker’, to raise money for her orphaned grandson.
The boy’s parents were divorced at the time of the shooting and reportedly had co-parenting rights with him. Alonna’s mother said she previously “made a conscious decision to distance herself” from the father “due to reckless behavior”
A small balloon release was held for Alonna, but a proper vigil is planned for the coming week in her memory
The money will go toward “college costs, therapy sessions and extended enrichment programs like football and basketball,” which she said are his favorite sports.
The heartbroken grandmother has been trying to keep it together for her now orphaned grandson King, who is just seven years old
On the donation page, Yuvonda said: ‘This tragedy leaves behind a child who needs the support not only of his immediate family, but also of the community around him. As you can imagine, losing a mother so tragically is devastating for everyone, especially a young child who is as close to his mother as King is to his.
“Alonna was the kind of mother who always put King’s needs above her own and dreamed of a life where she would send her son to college and support him through the transitional phases of his life. “Alonna declared she was the best mother she could be to King from the moment she found out she would be a young mother,” she added.
The donation goal is set at $50,000, of which $35,700 has been raised to date.
The money will go toward “college costs, therapy sessions and extended enrichment programs like football and basketball,” which she said are his favorite sports.
A small balloon release was held for Alonna, but a proper vigil is planned in her memory over the next week.
DailyMail.com has contacted the Berkeley Police Department for comment.