Authorities arrested a man Saturday in the fatal shooting of Cal basketball legend Gene Ransom on northbound Interstate 880 in Oakland.
According to the CHP, 25-year-old Juan Angel Garcia of San Francisco was arrested without incident Saturday morning. Garcia was booked at Alameda County Jail.
NBC Bay Area learned Saturday that Ransom was the victim killed in the shooting, according to his friends.
The incident occurred just after 5 p.m. Friday.
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Officials said Ransom was driving a black Honda Civic near the Oak Street exit. That's when Garcia, who was driving a black Lexus sedan drove to the left of Ransom and fired into his car, striking him at least once.
After being struck by gunfire, Ransom veered the car to the right, where it struck a guardrail before coming to a stop, CHP said. Officials said Garcia immediately fled the area.
Ransom was pronounced dead at the scene. No one else was in his car at the time of the incident.
The death of Ransom has shocked many in the Bay Area community.
Cal Athletics released the following statement Saturday evening:
“We are shocked to hear the reports that Cal Athletics Hall of Famer Gene Ransom has been identified as a victim in a deadly freeway shooting. Our thoughts are with Gene’s family and friends for this tragic loss. Gene was one of the greatest players in our men’s basketball program’s history and he will be greatly missed."
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Oakland Athletics scout Shooty Babitt also shared some of his memories of Ransom.
“A lot of times, you just felt you had to be dreaming. You couldn’t believe what he just did,” he said. “His hands were twice as big as mine. He probably gripped a basketball when he came out of his mom. I mean this guy was just incredible.”
Ransom, who was nicknamed “The Dream,” was a UC Berkeley basketball star in the 1970s. He later became a hall of famer at the university.
Babitt, who is Ransom’s longtime friend said he was much more than that.
“Legendary. A Berkeley icon if you will,” he said.
Babitt and Ransom played basketball and baseball together at Berkeley High School.
“When I got a chance to get on the same field with Gene Ransom, it made me understand what greatness really was,” Babitt said.
Ransom's friends told NBC Bay Area Saturday that he was a community advocate and helped create programs to help keep youth off the streets.
Doug Harris said that he and Ransom created late night basketball for kids, as part of Athletes United for Peace.
“I’m just real sad at the fact that something that Gene worked along closely with me with for 20 years is what he succumbed to in life. The dangers of gun violence,” he said.
Justin Berton, a spokesperson for Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf also released the following statement Saturday.
“The loss of life due to gun violence is a tragedy for the family and friends of Gene Ransom and our entire community. The mayor will be relentless in her pursuit of state resources to install cameras, with privacy protections, at on and off ramps that can assist investigations such as these, and ultimately hold those accountable who act with such heinous disregard for human life.”
CHP officials said the motive of the shooting is still under investigation.
If anyone has any information on the shooting, they are urged to contact the CHP's investigation tip line at (707) 917-4491.
