Community honors life of newlywed killed in road rage shooting
By Betty Yu
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SAN LORENZO, California (KPIX) — Violent road rage incidents have increased by 500 percent over the past decade, leading to hundreds of deaths here in the Bay Area alone.
A week ago, Rienheart Asuncion, a 30-year-old San Lorenzo newlywed, was shot and killed at the intersection of Lewelling and Hesperian boulevards in Alameda County after he got into an argument with the occupants of a car next to him, investigators said.
So far, no arrests have been made.
On Sunday, family, friends and their community came out to remember their loved one and to demand something be done to catch his killers and to prevent more of this anti-Asian violence in the future.
“The people that live in this community, they deserve to feel safe, they deserve to be served, they deserve to feel safe, and we can’t have any more violence like this happening,” said vigil organizer Harris Mojadedi.
Moms Demand Action, a group that works to prevent gun violence, attended the vigil. Dublin city councilman Shawn Kumagai pledged to do more.
“I promise you that I will do everything I can in my position to end this violence, to make sure that people are held to account,” he said.
“Shawn Kumagai and I share an office for our respective campaigns just a block from here. And we are extremely heartbroken to see this continued loss of innocent community lives,” former Alameda city councilmember Lena Tam added.
A week after he was gunned down, Asuncion’s family said he was on the way to the grocery store last Sunday afternoon when another driver cut him off.
He got into an argument with suspects in the other car. Asuncion got out and was shot multiple times. He died at the scene.
The Alameda County Sheriff’s Office said he had been on Facetime with his wife in the Philippines moments before he was killed.
Anna Tolentino struggled to find the words to describe her son.
“This is tragic for me, what happened to my son,” she said.
Family and friends prayed over Asuncion’s parents, who leaned on one another for support.
Detectives are reviewing surveillance video and are trying to identify suspects.
Asuncion was remembered as a hard-working Tesla factory employee, a brother, a son and a compassionate friend.
Longtime San Lorenzo resident Keith Barros offered his condolences, and encouraged others to act.
“Our future will be determined by our actions or by our lack of action. We must act or lose by default, I can tell you it feels good to be involved. It’s better than being a mere spectator and it’s much better than being a victim. Remember Reinhart Asuncion!”
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