Horrifying footage shows mother's final moments before she was killed confronting suspected drug dealers
Topics: California, Crime, Drugs, Health
Emily Brown
Featured Image Credit: NBC / KTVU
Topics: California, Crime, Drugs, Health
Warning: This article contains graphic footage which some readers may find distressing
The death of a 33-year-old mother of eight was caught on camera as she attempted to confront alleged drug dealers.
Maria Ramos lost her life in East Oakland, California on August 7, after she approached a car on the 5600 block of Hilton Street.
Ramos, who was with her mother at the time, suspected the people in the car had been selling vape pens filled with marijuana and were responsible for one of her children getting their hands on one.
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Footage of the scene filmed on a street camera showed Ramos getting out of an SUV, driven by her mother, next to a sedan which carried the suspects.
Her mother, Bianca Velasco, recalled: “Our plan was to tell them, stop coming to our house."
Ramos approached the car, but those inside almost immediately began to fire shots at her. She ran away, but unfortunately suffered an injury as a result.
Police are investigating whether Ramos pepper sprayed the suspects before they shot her.
Officers arrived at the scene at about 2.30pm local time and said they found a victim suffering at least one gun shot wound.
Speaking to KTVU, Velasco recalled: “I started rubbing her chest and telling her, ‘Breathe, Lupita, breathe! Like, we still need you. You have 8 kids.’ And she tried."
Ramos was sadly pronounced dead at the scene.
Commenting on the incident, Oakland Deputy Chief of Police Frederick Shavies said: "Within minutes, our patrol team and our special resources team sprung into action, identifying the vehicle, locating the vehicle and then quickly taking three suspects into custody within the next 12 hours."
The loss of Ramos has left her family devastated, with Velasco telling CBS News her five-year-old granddaughter is still waiting for her mom to come home.
"She says, 'I hear mommy is dead, but she's still coming back from the hospital, right grandma?'" Velasco said.
"I would be like, 'yeah,' because I don't know how to tell her she's not coming back."
The grandmother added that she is now planning to move out of Oakland with her grandchildren in a bid to keep them safe.
“She was a cheerful person, a very lovable person to her and her kids," Velasco said of her daughter. "You know she was very lovable. She liked taking her kids out all the time. Her kids were her world to her."
A 16-year-old boy has been charged with murder in relation to Ramos' death. He is now being held at Alameda County Juvenile Hall.