BERKELEY─A candlelight vigil was held on Friday, July 3 at Cosumnes Oaks High School in Elk Grove to remember 19-year-old UC Berkeley student Seth Smith who died from a gunshot wound in Berkeley on Monday, June 15 when he was walking in his neighborhood.
Smith was born and raised in Clarksburg, California, attending Elizabeth Pinkerton Middle School and Cosumnes Oaks High School in Elk Grove. He was a double major in history and economics at UC Berkeley and had almost completed enough credits to graduate earlier. He had also worked as a research assistant to a Ph.D. student and planned to study at the London School of Economics after graduating from UC Berkeley. Smith would have turned 20 on July 4 and started his third year at the school.
The City of Berkeley has been offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of all responsible suspects in the murder of Seth Smith on Dwight Way. Berkeley Police Department is still investigating the case.
“I need #Berkeley’s help. I cannot rest until I know why my son Seth was taken from us. He enjoyed walking. He’d always been a night owl kid. He should not have been shot in the back of the head for walking on his street. This was in front of a house,” said Smith’s mother Michelle Rode-Smith via Twitter.
“He was brilliant, kind, and loved. In his memory, we are establishing this scholarship fund so that students with his qualities can move forward in his name. Please help move the future forward,” said Smith’s family. They organized a fundraiser, Seth Smith Memorial Scholarship Fund, on gofundme to benefit Elk Grove Community Foundation.
