OAKLAND — A 16-year-old boy was arrested Thursday as a suspect in the attempted robbery and fatal shooting Monday of 15-year-old Derbing Jose Alvarado Gonzalez, who was confronted as he was walking to soccer practice in East Oakland, authorities said Friday.
In a news advisory Friday morning, police only said the arrest resulted from the “dedicated and collaborative efforts” of homicide investigators, and patrol officers and a special police detail in East Oakland.
Police have not yet said how they were able to identify the suspect. He was arrested outside his Oakland home several blocks away from where the shooting happened, authorities confirmed. The teen is being held at Alameda County Juvenile Hall and the case will be presented to the district attorney’s office for charging..
Police also have not yet said if other suspects are still being sought.
Derbing, a student at Cristo Rey De La Salle High School in the Fruitvale district, was walking with some friends about 4:15 p.m. Monday in the 1400 block of 100th Avenue on their way to soccer practice when two people tried to rob him of his backpack. Authorities confirmed the suspect arrested did not know Derbing.
He was shot after not immediately complying and the suspects fled without taking anything. No one else was injured.
Derbing was well liked and respected by friends, and wanted to be a police officer, his parents told police. The parents told police he had recently gotten a summer job so he could with family expenses.
“He was the best son anybody could ever have” and the “best example” for his younger sister, his loved ones said.
A walk in his honor, organized by a group called Faith in Action, was to be held Friday night. The Ceasefire Night Walk was to begin at 6 p.m. Friday at the St. Louis Bertrand Parish, 1410 100th Ave.
As of Friday morning a Go Fund Me account set up on behalf of the family had received $79,826 in donations.
Check back for updates on this developing story.