Justice pledged as restaurant reopens
Co-owner promises to keep giving back to community
Oakland police said Wednesday they were “aggressively” investigating the fatal shooting of Artgel “Jun” Anabo, the beloved restaurateur whose death last week prompted an outpouring of grief across the Bay Area.
Family and friends of Anabo gathered outside of the popular Filipino restaurant Lucky Three Seven on Wednesday afternoon, the day the eatery reopened following the shooting last week.
Standing in front of a growing memorial filled with flowers, candles and photos of Anabo, grieving family members gave emotional speeches about the 39-year-old man who was fatally shot while standing next to his 11-year-old son outside of the restaurant.
Oakland Police Department Deputy Chief Angelica Mendoza said the death of Anabo was a “brazen and unfortunate death.”
She said that investigators were actively and “aggressively” investigating the incident and that no arrests had been made. She expects investigators to provide an update in the coming days.
“We have a really good team on it,” she added.
Terry Wiley, the Alameda County chief assistant district attorney,
“How do I ensure a safer future for (Anabo’s son) and other survivors who are victimized by (these) acts of violence?” Analyn Novenario, sister of slaying victim Artgel “Jun” Anabo
promised the Anabo family that the case would receive “top attention” once Oakland police make an arrest.
“We’re going to get justice for you,” he said, as people cheered and clapped.
Analyn Novenario, Anabo’s sister, began her speech by offering condolences to the families whose loved ones were killed in “senseless” mass shootings in Buffalo, N.Y., and Uvalde, Texas, where a gunman
murdered 19 children and two teachers in an elementary school on Tuesday.
She condemned the factors that she said contribute to “this rampant escalation of gun violence,” including a failure to recognize people suffering from mental health issues, inadequate access to health care and “unwillingness to pursue meaningful gun control with background checks.”
“How do I ensure a safer future for (Anabo’s son) and other survivors who are victimized by (these) acts of violence?” Novenario said through sobs Wednesday afternoon.
Oakland City Council Member Sheng Thao recalled the traumatic experience of being with Anabo’s family as they sat the at hospital and how Kiah cried for his father.
“This is not OK,” said Thao. “I don’t give a crap why it happened, just put the f—ing guns down.”
Anabo’s killing last week prompted an outpouring of grief across the Bay Area and from the Filipino community. A crowdfunding campaign for Anabo’s son surpassed its original goal of $20,000 to more than $100,000 as of Wednesday afternoon.
The festive eatery in the Fruitvale district, known for its spicy-sweet G-Fire chicken wings and crispy “XL” lumpia, is known as more than just a restaurant.
It’s a community hub where Anabo and Mark Legaspi, his cousin and the other co-owner, hosted annual block parties where they would give out free food and school supplies to neighbors; many Bay Area rappers made it their second home.
Legaspi reassured the crowd Wednesday that they weren’t going to close the restaurant anytime soon. In fact, he said, they planned to honor Anabo’s legacy by hosting larger block parties and continuing to give back to the Fruitvale community.
“He should still be here doing this,” he said of his cousin. “We’re not letting no one shut us down.”