Musician slain by stray bullet after Oakland gig

Musician Emiliano “Emilio” Nevarez was struck and killed by a stray bullet in downtown Oakland Musician Emiliano “Emilio” Nevarez was struck and killed by a stray bullet in downtown Oakland Photo: Family Photo / Family Photo / Photo: Family Photo / Family Photo / Image 1 of / 5 Caption Close Musician slain by stray bullet after Oakland gig 1 / 5 Back to Gallery

Emiliano “Emilio” Nevarez often performed late at night as bassist for the Oakland punk rock band the Lucky Eejits — so much so that his mother, fearful about crime, warned him to be careful.

But early on Sunday, danger came out of nowhere.

Nevarez, 26, was fatally struck in the neck by a bullet meant for somebody else as he was carrying equipment and packing up after a gig at a downtown Oakland nightclub, authorities and his family said Monday.

The shooting happened about 1:15 a.m. outside the Golden Bull near 14th Street and Broadway — within sight of Oakland City Hall — when two people got into an argument up the street. One of the men left, returned with a gun and opened fire, police said.

“There were bullets flying and ricocheting,” Nevarez’s mother, Bernadette Valadez, said Monday, citing witness accounts. “At that point, my son was bending over to pick up something, and he was shot.”

Nevarez, who was bassist and vocalist for the band and had just performed for a friend’s 40th birthday, died at the scene. A second man — also not the intended target of the assailant — was shot in the arm, police said. He suffered a wound that was not considered life-threatening.

No arrest has been made in the slaying, which comes less than a month after the shooting death of a West Oakland mother, 30-year-old Chyemil Pierce, who was caught in the cross fire of a gun battle a half block from her home.

Oakland has a long history of shocking stray-bullet killings. In 2011, a 3-year-old boy, Carlos Nava, was slain by a drive-by shooter as his mother pushed him in a stroller toward a grocery store in East Oakland.

“It’s tough to see all homicides. It’s really tough to see these types of homicides. We’ve got to get past the point where the phrase, 'Being in the wrong place at the wrong time’ is common,” said Oakland homicide Lt. Roland Holmgren.

He said investigators were reviewing surveillance video and have contacted witnesses to Sunday’s violence, but were still “looking for community support” to help find the shooter. “We will do everything within the law to find the person and bring that individual to justice,” Holmgren said.

Valadez called her son’s death “senseless” as she reflected on the fears she had.

“I was always warning him, 'You know, you’re going into these places at night in Oakland,’” she said. “Sometimes he would tell me, 'Mom, don’t come and watch, because it’s kind of dangerous.’ I would say, 'Well, I don’t want you playing there if it’s dangerous.’ But he loved what he was doing, and it seemed like everything was always OK and everything was great, and this was just the one time that it went wrong.”

Valadez said she had texted her son Sunday, wishing him a happy Easter, but got no response. Instead, she got a call from Oakland police. She said she found some solace in knowing that her son’s best friend and girlfriend were with him when he died.

“I feel much better knowing that he wasn’t by himself,” she said.

She said her son — who was to be best man at his brother’s upcoming wedding in Mexico — was always musically inclined, and began taking trumpet lessons when he was 5. Nevarez attended Antioch High School and received a bachelor’s degree in audio engineering from Ex’pression College in Emeryville.

Although the rest of his family gravitated toward classical music, Nevarez’s interests turned to punk rock.

The Lucky Eejits’ Facebook page describes the band as “An East Bay trio punk rock and roll band. Blasting high speed, energetic and upbeat music. With lots of 'whoahs and ohs’ the Eejits rein the crowd in with easy sing along songs about memorable experiences and the power of unity.”

In a posting Monday, the band’s guitarist and singer, Casey FitzPatrick, and its drummer, Tyler Salinas, wrote, “We have been in a dark world of sadness and pure confusion as to why this happened to our beloved, beautiful and talented friend. If you knew Emilio, you would know he would tell us all not to cry and not to be sad. He would want each and every one of us to be strong. He was and will always be to us a strong man and incredible influence to our sound.”

Later, the band members and friends consoled each other outside the club, steps from the van Nevarez had been loading after the gig. A makeshift memorial grew with candles, flowers and tea lights.

“Emilio was just such a huge part of this band and this community,” Salinas said. “He touched a lot of lives.”

Henry K. Lee is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: hlee@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @henryklee