Andy Lopez mural moved to new location

A mural of Andy Lopez that was mounted last fall on the side of a vacant Roseland gas station now can be found on the side of the Peace and Justice Center of Sonoma County.

Santa Rosa artist Mario Uribe removed the 8-by-16-foot mural before the gas station on West Avenue and Sebastopol Road was demolished in November to make way for the proposed Roseland Village neighborhood center.

The mural, titled “Mindfulness,” will remain at the Peace and Justice Center on Sebastopol Avenue until summer. After that, Uribe plans to move it every six months to other locations in Santa Rosa.

“I’ve gotten other requests from other places,” he said.

Uribe created the mural with the help of local artist Mary Vaughan and three young apprentices from Artstart, a nonprofit program he oversees, to memorialize the 13-year-old Lopez, who was fatally shot in 2013 by Sonoma County Sheriff’s Deputy Erick Gelhaus. The deputy reportedly mistook the airsoft BB gun Lopez was carrying for an AK-47 assault rifle that it was designed to resemble.

The mural, made up of a series of four images of Lopez, is intended to promote healing and reflection, Uribe said.