A Bay Area organization dedicated to assisting in Asian crime investigations is offering a $10,000 reward for any information regarding the recent shooting death of toddler Jasper Wu.
Wu was killed last week by a stray bullet on the I-880 in Oakland. The toddler was immediately rushed to a nearby hospital for medical treatment but did not survive. He would have been two years old next month.
The California Highway Patrol is investigating the incident, which involved two cars shooting at one another going in the northbound direction. One of the suspects was reportedly driving a dark color Chrysler 300. But in subsequent days, little information has been provided about possible leads.
Now, the Crimes Against Asians Reward Fund (CAARF), created by the Burma Love and Superstar Restaurants, the San Francisco Police Officers Association and the Oakland Chinatown Chamber of Commerce in April of this year, will pledge $10,000 as a reward to whoever can provide information on the identity of the shooters.
The fund was created in order "to fight racial injustice and crimes committed against the Asian Americans & Pacific Islander community in the Bay Area," according to the website.
More information about the reward will be announced during a press conference Friday morning at the Pacific Renaissance Plaza at 388 9th St.
"Protecting its citizens serves as the government's fundamental responsibility, and if the death of this toddler, on his way home with his family, doesn't wake us up to the out of control crime in Oakland, I don't know what will," said Carl Chan, president of the Oakland Chinatown Chamber of Commerce. "We can all be victims, and I call on the California Highway Patrol to increase its presence on our roadways so tragedies like this can be prevented."
In the meantime, the Oakland Chinatown Chamber of Commerce set up a GoFundMe page to raise money for the toddler's family. As of Friday morning, $205,846 was raised, far exceeding the original goal of $35,000.
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