Jen Angel, social justice activist and founder of popular Downtown Oakland bakery Angel Cakes, is on life support, and her medical team said she is unlikely to recover, according to a Thursday statement prepared by Angel's close friends.
Angel was hospitalized Monday following a robbery gone wrong in Downtown Oakland that left her severely injured and in critical condition.
Angel was robbed while sitting in her car near Webster and 21st streets. After pursuing the suspect to retrieve her stolen belongings, Angel’s clothes were allegedly snagged in the suspects’ car door, and she was “dragged more than 50 feet before falling free in the middle of the street,” according to a crime brief in the San Jose Mercury News.
In the statement, Angel's friends shared their feelings about her and gratitude for the outpouring of support they have received since the incident.
“Jen cultivates community everywhere she goes," Pete Woiwode wrote. "Her cupcakes, her organizing work, and every other element of her life have always been an invitation into the beautiful world she hopes to build, where everyone is valued, cared for, and celebrated."
Another friend of Angel's, Moira Birss, organized a GoFundMe fundraiser to go toward her medical expenses and financial support for her family that has raised more than $90,000 since Wednesday.
The 48-year-old baker founded Angel Cakes in 2008, opening her first storefront bakery at 745 Fifth Street in 2016. Angel is also a longtime social justice activist and organizer who founded an event production organization called Aid and Abet and published a bi-monthly alternative publication called Clamor Magazine between 1999 and 2006.