East Palo Alto

Cousin of NFL Star Davante Adams Killed in East Palo Alto Shooting

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The man who was shot and killed in East Palo Alto Tuesday night is a cousin of Las Vegas Raiders star Davante Adams, police said Wednesday.

Ralph Fields was shot at Jack Farrell Park in the 2500 block of Fordham Street, according to police. He succumbed to his injuries in an ambulance on the way to the hospital.

"I seen that my cousin had been shot," Camellia Pittman said. "I approach him and I try to keep him awake by telling him good things like, 'You're OK. You're going to make it. We’re here. You got this.'"

The shooting happened as dozens of families were practicing for a youth softball tournament. A child who happened to be recording a video on a cellphone captured the sound of more than 30 shots being fired.

"Some of them would cry," said Faauuga Talamo, a relative of one of the more than 30 children at the park at the time of the shooting. "I guess they didn’t expect anything like this to happen. It was a scary feeling for them."

Two additional shooting victims transported themselves to the Menlo Park Fire Protection District firehouse and were then transported to the hospital.

A fourth shooting victim was identified but did not request treatment, police said.

Investigators said it appears the shooting was a targeted attack and was not a random act.

"We’ve already stepped up our presence in the area with extra patrols," interim East Palo Alto police Chief Jeff Liu said.

This marks East Palo Alto's first homicide of 2022. Faith leaders and residents say the city has come a long way since the early 1990s when 43 lives were lost in one year.

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