Teen fatally shot months after speaking against gun violence

Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Oakland) and Roderick Godfrey, 19, of Oakland, spoke on a panel about gun violence in January. (Facebook)

A 19-year-old man was shot to death on Monday in Oakland, Calif., only months after speaking out against gun violence.

In January, Roderick “Treyvon” Godfrey gave an emotional speech at a town hall meeting in Oakland about the impact of gun violence in his community.

He shared that he had lost five friends in gun-related incidents. On Monday, the teenager became another fatality of gun violence when he was killed in a double homicide, the East Bay Times reported.

“It shouldn’t even be like that,” he said at the January meeting. “Especially when our kind can’t grow up to see the age of 21. We can’t even see what it feels like to be grown.”

As Godfrey recalled the loss of his friends, he became overcome with emotion and unable to finish his plea for gun law reform.