text: 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.
target: – 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.