Oakland father killed in mass stabbing identified as chef who fed the homeless

Gonsalo Lopez, 58, was killed during a 30-minute stabbing rampage in Oakland. Suspect Jose Jesus Rodriguez, 34, a homeless parolee, faces charges in the attack that left four others injured.

Oakland father remembered for feeding the homeless, killed in mass stabbing

According to NY Post Metro, the victim of a deadly mass stabbing in Oakland this week has been identified as Gonsalo Lopez, 58, a longtime chef known for regularly bringing meals to the homeless at Cesar Chavez Park.

Jose Jesus Rodriguez, 34, is accused of a 30-minute rampage across Cesar Chavez Park and three other locations on Monday that killed Lopez and left four others injured. Rodriguez is described as a mentally disturbed homeless man who was on parole at the time of the attack.

Lopez's son, Kenny Romero, 28, told Mercury News that his father made frequent visits to the park to feed people living there. On the night of the attack, Lopez had no food with him but went to the park to check on familiar faces.

"He just helped people. He was a really good person. He would go to the park as often as he could and they would always say 'thank you,'" Romero said.

Lopez had lived with his wife and three sons not far from the park. He had only recently returned from a trip to Honduras — his home country — where he visited an adopted daughter.

Romero described his father as a devoted family man who sacrificed to give his children opportunities. "He was a super great father," Romero said. "He worked really hard to give us every opportunity. Whenever we needed something he would help us."

Rodriguez had a history of violent offenses. In 2019, he stabbed an Uber driver and a garbage collector, which resulted in a prison sentence. He was released on parole in 2023.

Following his release, Rodriguez accumulated multiple parole violations and failed to secure employment, KTVU reported. His alleged conduct included attempting to bite off a police officer's ear and swinging a wooden board at two individuals.

A parole agent wrote last year that "there are no programs to appropriately address Rodriguez's escalating behavior," and noted that he "poses a significant threat to the community."

The four other victims stabbed on Monday were a 47-year-old man, a 31-year-old man, a 52-year-old woman, and a 20-year-old man.

Source: NY Post Metro