Marco Esparza was a 16-year-old Oakland resident who was shot and killed on July 18, 2009, while attending an illegal car rally known as a sideshow. Gunfire erupted at the unsanctioned gathering, and Esparza was taken to a local hospital where he died shortly afterward. The shooting drew attention to the recurring problem of violence at sideshows, events that regularly attracted large crowds of local youth.

The unsanctioned nature of these rallies made intervention difficult, and Esparza’s death intensified community concern about how to curb the violence tied to such events. If anyone attended that sideshow or has information about who fired the shots, please come forward and share what is known.