BART police on Wednesday marked the third anniversary of the fatal shooting of a passenger on a train at the West Oakland station by saying that they have new information about the case and that the reward has been increased from $10,000 to $25,000.
Carlos Funez-Romero, a 19-year-old Antioch man, was fatally shot at the West Oakland station at about 7:45 p.m. on Jan. 9, 2016.
BART police Chief Carlos Rojas said at a news conference at police headquarters Wednesday that investigators now believe that the suspect in the shooting has strong ties to the Antioch area and goes by the first name of Matty, although he also could be known as Matthew or Matt.
Rojas said investigators also believe the suspect's father's first name is Vic or Victor and that he drives a Ford Crown Victoria.
He said, "There's a good possibility that someone knows a man by the name of Vic who has a Crown Victoria."
Rojas said the fatal shooting of Funez-Romero, who was born in Honduras, was "a heinous act committed by an individual who's still roaming free."
But Rojas said, "He's looking over his shoulder every day and our message is that we're on this case, we're coming after you and we will find you."
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Rojas said police believe the suspect may still be in the Antioch area because he's familiar with it but admitted it's also possible he has fled the region.
BART police describe the suspect as a black man who is 6 feet to 6 feet 4 inches tall and say that he had a bald or shaved or close-cut hair style and a slim build at the time of the fatal shooting and was wearing a green hooded jacket with beige, construction-style boots.
Rojas said the motive for the shooting still isn't clear.
Funez-Romero and the suspect both boarded a Tri Delta Transit bus at 3400 Delta Fair Blvd. in Antioch and then got on a BART train bound for San Francisco International Airport.
BART police said shortly after the shooting that the suspect shot Funez-Romero multiple times and then fled on foot from the West Oakland station.
Rojas declined to talk about Funez-Romero's background, saying that the focus should be on the suspect.
"We don't believe the victim was doing anything wrong. He was murdered plain and simple and didn't deserve what happened to him," the chief said.
Rojas said homicides are rare on the BART system and before Funez-Romero was killed, there hadn't been a homicide on the system since February 2013.
However, there were three homicides on the BART system in a five-day period last July, including the fatal shooting of 17-year-old Nia Wilson at the MacArthur station in Oakland on July 22, 2018.
Rojas said anyone with information about the fatal shooting of Funez-Romero should call BART police at (510) 464-7040 or an anonymous tip line at (510) 464-7011.
