Crime & Safety

Man Killed in Richmond Linked to New Marin Energy Authority Partner

MEA had just inked a deal to invest in training for people going through the RichmondBUILD program in which the three people who were shot Tuesday morning were participating.

The victims of a shooting that left one man dead and two people injured in Richmond Tuesday morning were jogging as part of an agility test for the city's RichmondBUILD program when a gunman opened fire, an eyewitness said.

The RichmondBUILD program just inked a deal last week with the Marin Energy Authority as part of MEA's new energy efficiency program, according to MEA spokesperson Jamie Tuckey.

Officers found the three victims lying on the sidewalk and in the street in the 300 block of South 28th Street, near Boorman Park, around 11:10 a.m., police Detective Nicole Abetkov said. Police were alerted to the shooting by multiple 911 calls and the city's ShotSpotter gunshot detection system.

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Emergency responders pronounced one man dead at the scene. The other two men hit by the gunfire were taken to hospitals and are expected to survive, Abetkov said.

About 25 enrollees in the RichmondBUILD construction course went out for a run about 11 a.m. when a white SUV sped up and skidded to a stop next to the group, and a man got out of the vehicle and began shooting, according to the Contra Costa Times.

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The RichmondBUILD program had just recently partnered with the Marin Energy Authority, as the MEA board approved on April 4 a $45,000 contract with RichmondBUILD to invest in development training for individuals going through the program, Tuckey said. MEA, the joint powers authority that purchases a higher percentage of renewable energy, administers the Marin Clean Energy (MCE) program.

Many of the program participants will become part of a new MEA energy efficiency program the authority is creating, which will offer incentives and rebates to help single-family home, multifamily home and commercial building owners make energy-saving retrofits to their property, she added.

MEA Legal Director Elizabeth Kelly sent out an email Wednesday about the incident involving RichmondBUILD, which she said "works to end the cycle of poverty and violence in Richmond, and builds an important path to creating a better world for all of us."

"Our office is in a very somber mood today," Kelly wrote. "We will be closely in touch with RichmondBUILD and we are going to be working with our Richmond friends and colleagues to see how best we can support them at this time."

The victim was identified by the Contra Costa Coroner's Office as Richmond resident Dimarea Young, the Times reported. His Facebook page listed him as a 2011 El Cerrito High School graduate.

A student with RichmondBUILD said she was jogging around the block with the group as part of an agility test for the program, a public-private partnership to teach low-income participants construction skills and get them placed in jobs.

She said that as the group ran, someone drove by them slowly and then began shooting at the group, firing six to eight shots.

Two people were shot in the ankle, and a third fell in the street. The shooter then stopped the car, got out, and shot the victim in the street in the head, the student said.

All three victims were part of the program, she said.

Police have not made any arrests in the case, although officers found an abandoned vehicle that may be associated with the crime, Abetkov said.

Abetkov said the shooting occurred about half a block from the Ruth C. Powers Child Development Center, which was placed on lockdown after the shooting.

Investigators were interviewing witnesses Tuesday afternoon. Anyone with information about the crime is asked to call Richmond police at (510) 232-8477. Callers may remain anonymous, and a reward is offered for information leading to the suspects' arrest and conviction.

–Bay City News Service contributed to this report. Copyright © 2013 by Bay City News, Inc. – Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited.


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