Mother Of Two Shot Dead Near Oakland Park
OAKLAND (CBS SF) - A Berkeley Unified School District employee was fatally shot near Oakland's Poplar Park on Monday night, in what police said may be a case of mistaken identity.
At 9:45 p.m., officers were dispatched to the 3000 block of Union Street on reports that a shooting had just occurred, Oakland police Officer J. Moore said.
Shortly after they police arrived, the officers were contacted by Alta Bates Summit Medical Center and told that a woman with multiple gunshot wounds had been brought to the hospital.
She was identified as Beatrice Burton, 33, of Richmond. Police said she had been taken to the hospital by her boyfriend.
Burton was apparently walking with a friend at the park at the time of the shooting.
CBS 5 has learned that Burton worked the lunch counter at Oxford Elementary in North Berkeley, and was highly regarded by her co-workers.
KCBS' Anna Duckworth Reports:
Berkeley Unified School District spokesperson Mark Copeland said counselors were sent to the campus to help break the news that Burton had been shot to death.
"This has touched everybody. The staff that work with her, the students that see her everyday and the rest of us who only get the chance to witness her good work periodically," said Copeland.
Burton has a 15-year-old daughter and 8-year-old son and Copeland said the father of her son also works for the district's nutrition services program.
"It's a double tragedy for us in that her co-workers are dealing with the loss of a beloved co-worker and also dealing with being able to provide the support for another co-worker who is going through such incredible anguish," said Copeland.
Officers said Tuesday that she may have been misidentified before her shooting. Burton is the 32nd person murdered in Oakland this year.
No arrests have been made in connection with the shooting. A $15,000 reward is now being offered by Bay Area Crime Stoppers.
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