 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. No motive has been released by police for the killing and no arrests made. She was here, and I saw the expression in her face like something was happening,” Smith said. Oakland police alerted by ShotSpotter gave him CPR at the scene, but he later died at a hospital. 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. 
 
 Reading this on your phone or tablet? 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. 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. "A lot of people called him, wanting him to make them this and that," Smith said. He was changing his life, helping others.” 
 
 Smith said she was home in East Oakland on Tuesday when she learned of the shooting. 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.
– 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.