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ALBANY, Calif. (KRON) — A young Bay Area boy lost both of his parents on the same day. The boy, named King, was orphaned in the wake of two shootings at a Toyota service center in Albany, according to family and investigators.
“Losing a mother so tragically is devastating for any one, especially a young child (who is) as close to their mother as King was to his,” King’s grandmother wrote on a GoFundMe page.
The boy’s mother was identified by family as 24-year-old Alonna Gallon.
Gallon was working on September 21 at the Toyota dealership’s service center when she was shot by her son’s father, according to family and investigators. The killing was a case of domestic violence, Alameda County Sheriff’s Lt. Tya Modeste said.
The victim’s mother, Yuvonda Gallon, wrote, “Alonna was tragically killed at her place of employment by her child’s father after making a conscience decision to distance herself from him due to his reckless behaviors. Alonna tried to the best of her individual abilities to create a healthy co-parenting relationship with King’s father but it unfortunately didn’t stop him from brutally taking her life.”
Several witnesses who were inside the auto service center called 911 at 11:14 a.m. reporting that a man entered the building and shot an employee, Lt. Modeste said.
A Toyota customer told KRON4, “I heard a gun. We ran. We ran as fast as we could. Then we saw the police cars coming really fast.” The Toyota center is located at 1025 Eastshore Highway near the city border between Berkeley and Albany.
Berkeley and Albany police officers immediately entered Toyota’s building and found the father on the second floor. Gunfire occurred between the suspect and multiple Berkeley police officers, according to authorities. The father was fatally shot.
The Albany Police Department is leading the homicide investigation for Alonna Gallon’s death.
The GoFundMe page was created to help support her young son.
Alonna Gallon is remembered by her family as a caring, kind, and shy person “who had a lot of love to give and more life to live.”
“Alonna declared to be the best mother she could be to King from the very moment she found out she’d be a young mother. Alonna was the kind of mother who always put King’s needs before her own and dreamed of a life where she’d send her son off to college,” Yuvonda Gallon wrote. “This tragedy leaves behind a child who will need not only the support of his close family, but of the community around him.”
As of Monday morning, the father’s name had not been released by law enforcement officials.
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