Personal tragedy is how I learned that it is not registered gun owners who are the problem in America. It is those who buy illegal guns for nefarious reasons.
I'll never forget Easter Day 2015, when I received a call from a homicide detective with the Oakland Police Department. My son Emiliano was shot and killed while exiting a building, after performing for a co-worker’s birthday party. Three men were fighting on the street, when one man pulled out a gun and shot twice over another man’s shoulder, hitting my son in the distance. His girlfriend was still in the building, unaware that Emilio had died on the street. Of course, when the ambulance and police arrived, the shooter was MIA. Video from a neighboring building showed the complete incident.
Emiliano
I lived in Fresno, which is over four hours away. After the call, I felt numb and could only see through a thin veil that dropped in front of my face. I don’t remember a lot of what occurred during the coming weeks other than utter horror and pain. It was weeks later before I could bury my son, pending an autopsy.
It was the 2016 election, and I sent both Presidential candidates a desperate letter. One week later I heard from the Trump Campaign Headquarters. I was told if Donald Trump was elected, he would help me. I made efforts to contact my Senators too, Kamala Harris and Diane Feinstein with no results, which didn’t surprise me.
It wasn’t long after the election that an FBI agent was sent to the Oakland Police Department to work on my son’s case. I had done my own investigation.
The shooter was using a cell phone that night which I told the detective. It was the FBI agent sent by President Trump who sat behind a desk for an entire year, inputting cell phone pings from that night into the Oakland Police database, waiting for a match. It took one year for a result. The shooter was identified and his whereabouts were in Northern California, Placerville area.
There was a car chase between the shooter and the police. The shooter’s car slammed into an embankment, exploded, and the shooter was killed. The homicide detective told me that this was the best scenario. In the event he was arrested, he would not have served much time for my son’s death.
Many FBI directors showed their face on national TV and took credit for solving my son’s case. Not one person thanked President Trump for sending in the agent to begin with. I pray for President Donald Trump and his family each day, for his help in putting closure to my son’s case.
Life will never the same. After seven years, it still feels like yesterday. I miss my son and cry for him every day. How many 26-year-old’s have a funeral attendance with 500 people and the media outside the doors of the church. I know Emilio always wanted to be famous for his musical talent. His death brought awareness to the safety of musicians who play in the evening around the Jack London Square area of Oakland.
Recently I came across a website called UPRISERI. The website listed thousands of victims of the police. This man who shot my son was listed as a victim. Honestly, who is the victim here? I pray for an end to this insanity and to bring awareness on illegal guns on our streets. I want to thank President Trump and his Administration for his thoughtfulness and bringing a resolution to my son’s case.
Bernadette Valadez lives in Farmington, NM. She is a piano teacher, former CFO of a children's nonprofit, and is semi-retired with a BA in Music from UNM. Bernadette is a mother of three adult children, (including Emiliano) and has two grandchildren. She has dedicated her life to working with underserved children in the community.
