Lovell Hadnot

Lovell Hadnot, a 15-year-old African-American boy known to friends and family as “Velly,” was remembered as an outgoing joker, a ladies’ man, and a loving brother. A happy young man who had graduated from Frick Middle School, Lovell was a sophomore at Fremont High School in Oakland, California. His principal at Mandela High School, where he also had connections, described him as a "very well liked child" who was "constantly trying to make something of himself." His younger brother, 13-year-old Antonio, looked up to him and had been excited about the idea of attending high school together.

The dream of that shared future ended on the evening of Saturday, January 8, 2011. At approximately 5:10 p.m., Lovell was walking across a parking lot in the 5800 block of Bancroft Avenue in East Oakland when he was shot. Officers from the Oakland Police Department responded to the scene and found Lovell suffering from gunshot wounds. He was pronounced dead at the scene. His death was one of several homicides that marked a violent start to the new year in Oakland, a wave of violence that disproportionately affected the city's youth. Just a month prior, the Hadnot family had suffered another loss when a relative, 20-year-old John Adejobi, was found shot to death in a car.

The day after Lovell's murder, his heartbroken family and friends gathered in the parking lot where he had been killed. Dozens of mourners lit candles and paid tribute to the boy they had lost so suddenly. His father, Tony Hadnot, stood vigil, surrounded by loved ones but overcome with grief and disbelief at the killing of his son. "It's just a real cowardly act," he said. "For a grown man to kill a 15-year-old boy, that’s a cold move. How could they live with that?" His brother Antonio’s words captured the simple, profound loss: "I was looking forward to going to high school with him. Now that can’t happen."

The Oakland Police Department immediately began an investigation into Lovell's death. Sgt. Sean Fleming confirmed that investigators had not determined a motive for the shooting and no arrests had been made. Police were searching for at least one male suspect. The killing was the fifth homicide in Oakland just eight days into 2011, a stark contrast to the previous year, which did not see its first homicide until January 10. A month later, in February 2011, police stated they did not believe Lovell's murder was connected to another fatal shooting that occurred a block away.

The violence drew concern from city officials, including then-Mayor Jean Quan, who pledged to work with police and street outreach workers to address the incidents. The Oakland Unified School District’s mental health services coordinator noted a disturbing trend of younger teens becoming involved in violent crime, with the number of student homicides for the school year already approaching the total for the entire previous year.

As of the latest available reports, the murder of Lovell Hadnot remains unsolved. No suspects have been publicly identified or arrested in connection with his death. Police and Crime Stoppers of Oakland initially offered a reward of up to $10,000 for information leading to the arrest of the killer. Anyone with information about the case is urged to contact the Oakland Police Department's homicide section at 510-238-3821 or the Crime Stoppers of Oakland tip line at 510-777-8572.