An Oakland mother was shot dead Monday while trying to protect two of her children after a gunfight erupted on her block.
Chyemil Pierce, 30, was hit by a stray bullet as she yelled for her 9-year-old daughter and 7-year-old son to take cover behind their house, Oakland police Sgt. Michael Cardoza said. Pierce also has a one-year-old child who was not with her at the time of the shooting.
Pierce, a human resource specialist at Kaiser Permanente, had just parked her car and was walking toward her house with her two children when a fight broke out on the street. Witnesses reported up to 50 shots were fired, according to SFGate
A neighbor called police about the fight thirteen minutes before Pierce was shot, but the call did not prompt dispatchers to send officers to the scene, according to SF Gate, which reviewed police scanner activity. Dispatch sent officers when the argument had already escalated into a shootout.
"She was my baby sister," Aushaunti Pierce, Chyemil's sister, told The Oakland Triune. "An exceptional mother who'd do anything for her children. So loved.
Two teenage boys were also shot and wounded nearby. Police are investigating if they are connected to the shooting that killed Pierce. Pierce's two children were not injured in the incident.
"Every life taken by senseless gun violence is a tragedy," said Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf. "Without a doubt, the families who have lost loved ones face the most immeasurable pain, but our city also suffers. We cannot flourish as a city under siege. We must come together to end the violence."
No arrests have been made and Oakland police are offering a $20,000 reward for information leading to an arrest.