This undated photo provided by Sherri Lyn Miller shows Melvin Johnson, who was shot and killed Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2016, on the east side of the San Francisco Bay Area city. Johnson, who urged an end to... (Associated Press) 
 
 This undated photo provided by Sherri Lyn Miller shows Melvin Johnson, who was shot and killed Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2016, on the east side of the San Francisco Bay Area city. Johnson, who urged an end to violence in Oakland after gunfire killed his son and grandson as they slept three years ago became... (Associated Press) 
 
 This undated photo provided by Sherri Lyn Miller shows Melvin Johnson, who was shot and killed Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2016, on the east side of the San Francisco Bay Area city. Johnson, who urged an end to violence in Oakland after gunfire killed his son and grandson as they slept three years ago became... (Associated Press) This undated photo provided by Sherri Lyn Miller shows Melvin Johnson, who was shot and killed Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2016, on the east side of the San Francisco Bay Area city. Johnson, who urged an end to... (Associated Press) 
 
 OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — A man who urged an end to violence in Oakland after gunfire killed his son and grandson as they slept three years ago became a victim himself this week as he drove near a street memorial for his slain family. 
 
 Melvin Johnson, 39, was shot and killed Tuesday on the east side of the San Francisco Bay Area city, not far from the shrine for his 16-month-old grandson and 20-year-old son, who were fatally shot in August 2013, The East Bay Times reported Thursday (http://bayareane.ws/2ihI1Us ). 
 
 Police have made no arrests and released no motive for Johnson's killing. They have not said if the shooting was random or if Johnson was targeted. He died at a hospital. 
 
 "In three years and four months, three generations of one family has been lost to gun violence in the streets of Oakland," community activist Sherri-Lyn Miller, a friend of Johnson's, told The Associated Press. "Melvin Johnson was a giant teddy bear, and the loss has not only devastated the Johnson family, but all that knew him." 
 
 Johnson had moved his son, Andrew "Drew" Thomas, and grandson, Drew Leon Deon Jackson, to the central California city of Fresno to get them away from Oakland's street violence, but they were slain while in town for a birthday party. 
 
 A shooter fired into a relative's home in the middle of the night, killing the sleeping pair. The slayings are still unsolved. 
 
 Johnson's mother, Carolyn Smith, spoke of her late son Wednesday as a good person who was committed to his family following a series of tragedies. 
 
 Another of his sons, 8-year-old Jahmel Johnson, died last month after a battle with lymphoma. 
 
 "(Melvin) helped everybody, he loved everybody," Smith told the newspaper. "He didn't mess with nobody; he was like a big teddy bear. I'm not saying that because I was his mother, but because I know." 
 
 Smith said his business, Drewski Designs, which made T-shirts and clothing for picnics, anniversaries, funerals and special events, helped people in the community. 
 
 "A lot of people called him, wanting him to make them this and that," Smith said. "He was changing his life, helping others." 
 
 Authorities are offering up to $10,000 for tips on who killed Johnson. A reward of up to $30,000 for information leading to an arrest in his son and grandson's killings is still being offered. 
 
 In past years, Oakland has seen triple-digit annual homicide rates and been on the FBI's list of the 10 most dangerous cities in the country. Poverty is rampant in some areas, with gangs and drugs linked to as much as 90 percent of the killings. 
 
 This year, the mayor said Oakland has seen a double-digit drop in overall shootings. Violent crime also has dipped. But the blue-collar city of about 410,000 that has yet to see the economic boom underway in neighboring San Francisco. 
 
 ___ 
 
 Information from: Contra Costa Times, http://www.contracostatimes.com ||||| OAKLAND — After his son and 16-month old grandson were fatally shot in August 2013 as they slept at an East Oakland home, Melvin C. Johnson Jr. pleaded for the community to “stop the violence” and “put the guns down.” 
 
 On Tuesday, Johnson, 39, also became a victim of deadly violence and gunfire. 
 
 Johnson was fatally shot about 1:11 p.m. Tuesday as he drove on 89th Avenue in East Oakland, not far from where a street shrine to his son and grandson had been erected after their deaths at 90th Avenue and MacArthur Boulevard. 
 
 Despite his wounds he was able to drive to the 8500 block of MacArthur, where he crashed into some parked cars near Castlemont High School. 
 
 Oakland police alerted by ShotSpotter gave him CPR at the scene, but he later died at a hospital. No motive has been released by police for the killing and no arrests made. 
 
 Johnson’s son, Andrew “Drew” Thomas, 20, and Thomas’ young son, Drew Leon Deon Jackson, were fatally shot August 7, 2013, by someone who fired into the rear of a Brookfield Village home on Ghormley Avenue at 2:46 a.m. 
 
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 Johnson had previously moved his son to Fresno to get him away from Oakland’s street violence, but Thomas and his son were in Oakland at the time for a birthday party and were staying with his aunt when they were killed. 
 
 The killings of Thomas and his son have not been solved, and up to $30,000 in reward money remains for information leading to the arrest of their killer. 
 
 Johnson’s mother, Carolyn Smith, spoke of her son Wednesday as a good person who redoubled his commitment to family in the face of a series of tragedies. 
 
 Smith said the family was still mourning Johnson’s 8-year-old son, Jahmel T. Johnson, who died Nov. 1 at Children’s Hospital Oakland after a battle with lymphoma. 
 
 And the memories of what happened to Johnson’s other son and grandson have never faded. 
 
 The family, Smith said, is handling the latest tragedy “very hard.” 
 
 “He helped everybody, he loved everybody,” Smith said. “He didn’t mess with nobody, he was like a big teddy bear. I’m not saying that because I was his mother, but because I know.” 
 
 Smith spoke with pride of Johnson’s Drewski Designs business, which made T-shirts and clothing for picnics, anniversaries, funerals and special events: “A lot of people called him, wanting him to make them this and that. He was changing his life, helping others.” 
 
 Smith said she was home in East Oakland on Tuesday when she learned of the shooting. 
 
 “Someone called my daughter. She was here, and I saw the expression in her face like something was happening,” Smith said. “Then she said, ‘Mama, let’s go. Melvin’s been shot,’ and we went to the scene, but he wasn’t there. They had taken him to Highland.” 
 
 Up to $10,000 in reward money is being offered for information leading to the arrest of Johnson’s killer. Anyone with information about the cases may call police at 510-238-3821 or Crime Stoppers at 510-777-8572. ||||| The 19-year-old son of a Chicago police officer was shot and killed Sunday morning, hours before he was due to return to college in New York, police and family members said. 
 
 The shooting took place in the Wrightwood neighborhood on the Southwest Side just after midnight, according to police. 
 
 Neighbors in the 2900 block of West 82nd Street reported hearing several gunshots. Police arrived to find 19-year-old Arshell Dennis and another man, age 20, wounded by gunfire. 
 
 Dennis and a hometown friend were hanging out on the front porch of a residence when a gunman approached, possibly from a vehicle, and opened fire, police officials said. 
 
 Dennis was hit in the chest and taken to Little Company of Mary Hospital in Evergreen Park, where he was pronounced dead less than an hour after he was shot, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office. 
 
 The 20-year-old man was shot in the arm and side. He was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn in serious condition. 
 
 College student Arshell Dennis III, 19, a junior at St. John's University in New York, came home for a visit and was fatally shot early on Aug. 14, 2016, in the 2900 block of West 82nd Street. Dennis was the son of a Chicago police officer. 
 
 Police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi confirmed that Dennis' father is a Chicago police officer. Officer Arshell "Chico" Dennis and Superintendent Eddie Johnson once worked together as patrol officers in the Gresham District, Guglielmi said. 
 
 "Officer Dennis dedicated his life to make this city safer, and his son Arshell was a good kid, making his parents proud and studying for a promising future as a journalist," Johnson said in a statement. "As always, the men and women of the CPD will stop at nothing to find who was responsible and bring a sense of closure and justice to Officer Dennis and all families affected by violence. 
 
 "But in order to address the root of this violence, we must change the way the criminal justice system treats the reckless, repeat gun offenders who are causing this violence and send a clear message that when you are involved in gun crimes you will be held accountable." 
 
 Dennis’ slaying added to the mounting violence this year. As of Thursday, 436 people had been slain in the city and 2,534 had been wounded by gunfire, according to a Tribune analysis. 
 
 The younger Dennis, whom relatives called "Trey," was a student at St. John's University in New York City, according to his grandfather. 
 
 The teenager was about to start his junior year as a journalism major at St. John's, relatives said. He arrived in town Thursday to see his mother before starting the school year and was planning to leave for New York on Sunday afternoon. 
 
 "He was a beautiful young man, full of laughs and always teasing us," said his grandfather, also named Arshell Dennis. "It's a deep loss, and it hurts. I wish this senseless killing would stop." 
 
 Dennis' death is being investigated as a case of mistaken identity, based on what detectives know about Dennis' family, about that block and about the neighborhood, according to Guglielmi. 
 
 Family photo Arshell Dennis III, 19, of Chicago. Dennis, a junior at St. John's University in New York and the son of a Chicago police officer, was fatally shot Aug. 14, 2016, along the 2900 block of West 82nd Street. Arshell Dennis III, 19, of Chicago. Dennis, a junior at St. John's University in New York and the son of a Chicago police officer, was fatally shot Aug. 14, 2016, along the 2900 block of West 82nd Street. (Family photo) (Family photo) 
 
 "There was nothing in the victim's history that would suggest he is involved or associated in gangs, and he had no criminal record. Neither of the victims have criminal history or gang history or history with the CPD," Guglielmi said. 
 
 Additionally, Dennis' father was known to everyone on the block as a Chicago police officer. A motive or any idea of who the assailant was trying to target remained unclear, Guglielmi said, adding that there was nothing to suggest anyone else was with Dennis and his friend when the shooting happened. It was not known if Officer Dennis was at work or home at the time of the incident. 
 
 Detectives are canvassing the area, looking for video surveillance that could have captured the shooting. There is no description yet on the gunman, but authorities will be speaking to the 20-year-old friend who remains hospitalized. No arrests have been made. 
 
 "Hopefully within the next few hours there will be leads in the case," Guglielmi said Sunday afternoon. 
 
 About a half-mile away, Denzell Mickel was shot multiple times Aug. 8 while driving a Lexus near 83rd Place and Kedzie Avenue before running off the road into a nearby yard. Guglielmi said it was too soon to say if Mickel's death had any connection to Dennis' slaying. 
 
 As a high school student, Dennis belonged to a college preparatory program called Upward Bound, according to director Gerald Smith. Last summer, he came back to work for Upward Bound as an ambassador. 
 
 A look at the scenes of violence in Chicago on the weekend of Aug. 13-14, 2016. 
 
 "He was one of my better students, he really was," Smith said. "Arshell was a fun time. He was real easygoing, real quiet, laid back, mild-mannered — he wasn't a problem at all. It's a tragic loss." 
 
 Smith said it was Upward Bound students who reached out to him Sunday morning to tell him about Dennis' death. 
 
 "I got the phone call, and my heart just fell to my stomach," he said. "So, so unexpected. … I'm still in disbelief." 
 
 Neighbors, whether they've lived on the block for decades or only a few years, said they were shocked by the violence. 
 
 Gloria Samaniego said the neighborhood has escaped violence for the 38 years she has lived in her home. Sunday morning she was returning from her shift at Rush University Medical Center, where she had spent the day watching the aftermath of gun violence unfold. 
 
 "I thought, 'Oh, my God, another shooting,'" she said. "Then I came home ... and someone had died two doors down." 
 
 Pat Williams, who also lives on the same block as the Dennis family, said she had specifically chosen the neighborhood for its safety and community. She said she heard six shots from her gangway, then watched as dozens of officers and first responders swarmed the sidewalks and front yards of her neighborhood. 
 
 "The reason we moved here was to get away from the hustle and bustle and the violence," Williams said. "I'm just confused. I'm hoping it's an isolated thing. I hope there's not more other violence." 
 
 Carol, who lives at the end of the block and asked to be identified only by her first name, said she heard eight or nine gunshots. 
 
 When she called 911, she was told that 10 or 20 others had reported the gunfire. 
 
 "They had gotten an enormous amount of calls," she said. 
 
 She looked out her window to see blue flashing lights and someone lying on the ground. 
 
 The neighborhood is tight-knit, she said. The lawns are kept neat, and the block club is active. Carol heard the bad news from the person above her on the neighborhood phone tree: The son of their neighbor, just home from college, had been shot dead, she was told. 
 
 "I'm so tired of this," she said. "I'm so tired of hearing about our kids getting killed, shot." 
 
 Another neighbor, who would only identify herself as Brenda, said she also heard the shots, followed by the sound of Dennis' mother.
– A man who urged an end to violence in Oakland after gunfire killed his son and grandson as they slept three years ago became a victim himself this week as he drove near a street memorial for his slain family. Melvin Johnson, 39, was shot and killed Tuesday on the east side of the city, not far from the shrine for his 16-month-old grandson and 20-year-old son, who were fatally shot in August 2013, the East Bay Times reports. Police have made no arrests and released no motive for Johnson's killing. They have not said if the shooting was random or if Johnson was targeted. "In three years and four months, three generations of one family [have] been lost to gun violence in the streets of Oakland," community activist Sherri-Lyn Miller tells the AP. She was a friend of Johnson's. "Melvin Johnson was a giant teddy bear, and the loss has not only devastated the Johnson family, but all that knew him," Miller says. Johnson had moved his son, Andrew "Drew" Thomas, and grandson, Drew Leon Deon Jackson, to the central California city of Fresno to get them away from Oakland's street violence, but they were slain while in town for a birthday party. A shooter fired into a relative's home in the middle of the night, killing the sleeping pair. The slayings are still unsolved. Johnson's mother, Carolyn Smith, spoke of her late son Wednesday as a good person who was committed to his family following a series of tragedies. Another of his sons, 8-year-old Jahmel Johnson, died last month after a battle with lymphoma. Melvin "helped everybody, he loved everybody," his mother said.