Community Pushes For Proper Burial For Homeless Sacramento Shooting Victim Melinda Davis
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) -- Melinda Davis was sleeping on 10th Street when she was caught in the crossfire during Sunday's shooting in downtown Sacramento. Now, the community is pushing to get her a proper burial and make sure her life is not forgotten.
A list of six names was released by the Sacramento County Coroner's Office on Monday – all victims of the mass shooting. But one name stuck out to Bob Erlenbusch, the executive director of Sacramento's Coalition To End Homelessness.
"The ages were really young and there was one that stood out," he said. "That was a red flag for me."
Davis was 57 years old and unhoused. Her friend, William, showed us where she's lived for years.
"This was her spot right here where she slept at, and in the morning, she'd wrap up her blanket and go to Chavez Park," William Earl Hopkins said at Davis' sleeping space.
Hopkins said the friends would just sit in the area and hang out.
Now, Davis' friends and strangers are working to plan a proper funeral for her.
"I think that's critically important. She might have been a mom. She was a daughter. She might have been a sister, an aunt," Erlenbusch said before adding that it was crucial "to humanize Melinda as much as possible.
The Sacramento Homeless Union also plans on stepping up if family does not claim the body.
"We will be reaching out to the coroner on how to proceed so we can aid in giving her a proper burial," the union wrote to CBS13.