Thomas was supposed to be on his way back to Fresno from Oakland with his child. But those plans never materialized. The former Bullard High School student and his child were killed while sleeping. Family members believe Andrew was targeted because of his relationship with a friend killed on Saturday.
One-year-old Drew and his father were visiting family in Oakland. The father and son seemed inseparable. "He always had his baby with him. Wherever he go, the baby go, because you know, its daddy," the victims aunt Konya Baylis said.
Baylis was asleep Wednesday morning when she heard gunshots coming from her backyard. Thomas and his child were asleep in a bedroom when shots were fired.
"When I open up my door, I see my other sister standing there with the baby in her arms, talking about the baby was shot," Baylis said.
Baylis saw that Andrew and his child had been shot and she frantically called 911.
"She just wanted me to focus on the baby because he was still breathing, and she was like stay on the phone with me, you can do mouth to mouth and then the next thing you know, ambulance and police got here," Baylis said.
Baby Drew was taken to a Bay Area hospital where he later died. His father Andrew died at the scene. Andrew was in town to attend his friend's funeral, Al Rivera, who was killed on Saturday on Ney and Partridge in Oakland.
"It could be a connection or something, cus they all hang out together but Andrew is a good kid. He don't get into trouble like that," Baylis said.
Police were looking for possible leads as of Wednesday morning. Now the family is left to mourn a young father, and a small child who had the rest of his life ahead of him.
Andrew moved to Fresno in 2009 and was sharing custody of Drew with the boy's mother.
