Friends said Tuesday that lawyer Rachelle Bergeron planned to soon return to the U.S. after a challenging stint prosecuting criminals on the Pacific nation of Micronesia, but she was shot and killed as she returned home from a run with her dog.
Bergeron's husband was inside the couple's house Monday night baking brownies with a local child the couple was helping care for when somebody fired three shots at Bergeron as she pulled up and opened the back of her Subaru hatchback, killing both her and her dog, said one friend, Amos Collins.
The killing has shocked the tiny island of Yap, home to 11,000 people, where Bergeron served as acting attorney general of Yap State. Authorities say they're investigating the crime but haven't yet arrested any suspects.
"Yap's spirit is broken and our pride and reputation is tarnished," Constantine Yowbalaw, the director of youth and civic affairs for Yap State, said in a statement.
Bergeron was from Wisconsin and first moved to Yap in 2015 to take a job as assistant attorney general. She had previously worked in Washington D.C., New York and India.
The Federated States of Micronesia, located about three-quarters of the way from Hawaii to Indonesia, has close ties with the U.S. under a compact of free association and the U.S. dollar is its primary currency.
Collins said Bergeron's husband Simon Hammerling called him a few minutes after the shooting at 7:15 p.m. and he arrived about the same time as the police.
Bergeron had been shot in her upper leg and her upper chest and was unconscious, Collins said. He and a nurse used a blanket to move Bergeron onto his flatbed truck and they drove to the local hospital.
Yowbalaw said Bergeron was pronounced dead on arrival at Yap Memorial Hospital.
Collins said that he doesn't know who shot Bergeron but that some of those she had prosecuted might hold grudges. He said he considers Yap a safe place and doesn't lock his car or worry when walking about at night.
He said Bergeron had a passion for fighting for justice for those who had been abused, especially women and children. Her husband is a pilot with Pacific Mission Aviation, a Christian missionary organization in the region where Collins also works.
Another friend, Julie Hartup, who lives in nearby Guam, said the couple was about to celebrate their one-year wedding anniversary and hoped to start a family soon.
She said she had joined the couple and their families in July for a celebration of their marriage, when they re-took their vows. She said Bergeron's father gave a speech about how his daughter had always wanted to be a voice for the voiceless, and to give strength to those who didn't have it.
"Her family came out for a couple of weeks, and she was showing them the island, how pretty it was," Hartup said. "It was quite joyous for everyone."
But she said Bergeron was feeling the strain of her new role, which she had taken on in January, and was eager to return home.
Hartup said it was hard to believe what had happened to her friend.
"She had a fun laugh; she loved her dogs; she loved going running; she really cared about the community," Hartup said. "She was trying her hardest to do the best job she could, and ultimately somebody took her life for being so good at her job."
DETROIT (AP) — The Oakland Athletics no longer have to wonder where they'll play the next few seasons. That won't make the long goodbye any easier.
The A's reacted to the announcement that this will be their last year in Oakland with a mixture of sadness and relief.
“At least as a player, you know where you’re headed,” outfielder Seth Brown said Friday before a game against the Tigers in Detroit. “There’s obviously a lot of moving parts, a lot of stuff we’re not privy to, so it’s just been kind of a waiting game on our end. Where are we going to go? Where are we going to be? So I think just having that knowledge -- at least we know where we’re going to be playing next year.”
Vivek Ranadivé, who owns the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats, and Oakland Athletics owner John Fisher announced Thursday that the A’s will temporarily relocate to West Sacramento's Sutter Health Park for at least three seasons. The A's are moving to Las Vegas after a new ballpark is constructed.
The River Cats, who are affiliated with the San Francisco Giants, will continue to play at the same facility.
Fisher was unable to reach an agreement with Oakland city officials on extending the lease at Oakland Coliseum, which expires at the end of this season. The A's have played in the city since 1968.
“There's direction now, which we've talked a lot about,” Oakland A's manager Mark Kotsay said. “We've got time to kind of reflect on what this really means from an organizational standpoint, the history that we've had in Oakland, with this being now the final season. There's a lot of emotion that goes behind this.”
It will not only cause some upheaval for the players and staff but also members of the organization that work behind the scenes.
“At the end of the day, we know where we're going to be for the next three seasons after the finish this year and that in itself gives a little bit of stability,” Kotsay said. “At the same time, in the present, it's challenging in certain ways to think about the finality of this organization in Oakland.”
Sacramento will be a much smaller environment to house a major league team. Ranadivé said the River Cats venue currently seats 16,000 when counting the stands, the lawn behind center field and standing room only.
First baseman Ryan Noda is concerned with the facilities. He's hopeful that significant upgrades will be made, much like the Toronto Blue Jays did at Buffalo's Triple-A facility. The Blue Jays played at Buffalo's Sahlen Field in 2020 in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“New walls, new dugouts, new locker rooms — everything they needed to become a big league stadium,” said Noda, who played some games in Sacramento as a minor leaguer. “As long as we can do something like that, then it'll be all right. But it's definitely going to be different than playing in stadiums that hold 40,000 people.”
Kotsay is confident the upgrades will occur.
“I know it will be of major league baseball quality,” he said. “It's has to be of major league baseball quality. I know the Players Association will make sure that takes place, as they did in Buffalo.”
For the rest of this season, the A's will have to deal with small home crowds and disappointed fans.
“We’re sad for the fans, the diehard fans, who always come to our games, always support us, always support the boys wearing the jersey,” Noda said.
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
Sacramento Kings owner Vivek Ranadive, center, shakes hands John Fisher, owner of the Oakland Athletics, before the start of a news conference where Fisher announced his team will leave Oakland after this season and play temporarily at a minor league park, during a news conference in West Sacramento, Calif., Thursday, April 4 2024.The A's announced the decision to play at the home of the Sacramento River Cats from 2025-27 with an option for 2028 on Thursday after being unable to reach an agreement to extend their lease in Oakland during that time. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
John Fisher, owner of the Oakland Athletics baseball team, announces that his team will leave Oakland after this season and play temporarily at a minor league park, during a news conference in West Sacramento, Calif., Thursday, April 4, 2024. The A's announced the decision to play at the home of the Sacramento River Cats from 2025-27 with an option for 2028 on Thursday after being unable to reach an agreement to extend their lease in Oakland during that time. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
Sutter Health Park, home of the Triple A team Sacramento River Cats, is shown in West Sacramento, Calif., Thursday, April 4, 2024. The Oakland Athletics announced the decision to play at the home of the Sacramento River Cats from 2025-27 with an option for 2028 on Thursday after being unable to reach an agreement to extend their lease in Oakland during that time. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
Oakland Athletics manager Mark Kotsay walks to the dugout after making a pitching change during the eighth inning of the team's baseball game against the Cleveland Guardians in Oakland, Calif., Sunday, March 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
