‘Such a kind soul’: Family remembers man shot, killed in Emeryville

(KRON) — An East Bay family is mourning the loss of Robert Abeyta Jr., who was shot and killed early Tuesday morning in Emeryville.

Two men have been arrested and charged with his murder, following a quick response by UC Berkeley police.

The incident occurred just after 1 a.m. near San Pablo Avenue and 39th Street, where Emeryville police received reports of gunshots.

Robert Abeyta Jr., 43, was involved in an argument with two men who allegedly shot him, leading to his death at a nearby hospital.

“We are hurting, we are grieving, it’s such a senseless act,” said Lola Leal, Abeyta’s cousin.

Leal expressed relief at the swift arrest, saying, “Makes the tragedy, at least brings some kind of comfort knowing that those two people are behind bars and can’t do this to someone else’s family member.”

Leal recounted the painful irony of losing her cousin on Sept. 2, which marks the anniversary of his mother’s death in 2009.

“The ironic thing is on September 2 in 2009, his mother actually passed away, my aunt, his mother. 16 years to the date so that’s pretty spiritual for us,” she said.

Reflecting on her cousin’s life, Leal shared fond memories of growing up together in East Oakland during the 1980s.

“We were die hard A’s fans, Raider fans, Warriors fans,” she recalled. “Oh he was such a kind soul. He would give you the shirt off his back. He loved being family oriented.”

Leal has started a GoFundMe page to help cover funeral expenses, emphasizing the family’s financial need.

“It’ll really help the family out… none of us are rich so we don’t have the means to bury him the way we want to,” she explained.

The two men charged with Abeyta’s murder are scheduled to appear in court next week, and Leal plans to attend the trial to represent her cousin’s voice.

For now, the family is focused on honoring Abeyta with a proper funeral.

All facts in this report were gathered by journalists employed by KRON4. Artificial intelligence tools were used to reformat from a broadcast script into a news article for our website. This report was edited and fact-checked by KRON4 staff before being published.