Updated 8:45 p.m. PT Wednesday, Oct. 14: The Alameda County District Attorney's Office has charged Vernika Dunbar, 38, with involuntary manslaughter in the death of her younger sister, Mackayla "Kash" Paige, 29, who was shot about 1:30 a.m. Sunday, Oct. 11, on 14th Street near Harrison Street in downtown Oakland, according to Oakland police, KTVU and the San Francisco Standard. Police say Dunbar was trying to pistol-whip a woman who was fighting with Paige when the gun went off and struck her sister.
Update Wednesday: what the charges say
Dunbar faces felony counts of involuntary manslaughter, assault with a firearm and carrying a loaded firearm in public, plus a misdemeanor count of brandishing a firearm, the Standard reported. KTVU also reported the assault and gun charges. She remained in jail as of Wednesday. Involuntary manslaughter is a charge for an unlawful killing without intent to kill, which matches the police account that the shot was not aimed at Paige.
According to an arrest report cited by the Standard, Dunbar and Paige were on 14th Street with two other women when Paige got into a fight with a woman police have not identified. Dunbar took a gun from one of the women with them, intending to "protect and assist" her sister, the report said. Officers wrote that the gun fired while Dunbar was trying to strike the other woman. Dunbar told police the gun discharged by accident, and the report said her account was consistent with surveillance video. The woman who had been fighting Paige ran off, the Standard said. Police have not said what started the fight.
The East Bay Times, cited by the Standard, reported that the two women were half-sisters. Early reports described the arrested woman as being from Richmond, while the Standard's account, citing police, lists Dunbar as from Berkeley. KTVU noted it had earlier misnamed the victim as the person charged and has corrected its story. The Standard also noted the Oct. 3 fatal shooting of a security guard at San Francisco's Warfield theater during a separate reality-show tour event; police have not linked the two cases.
Original report: what police said Sunday
A 29-year-old woman from Richmond died after she was shot early Sunday in downtown Oakland. Oakland police say they have arrested another woman in connection with the killing.
What police say happened
Officers responded to reports of gunfire shortly after 1:30 a.m. on the 200 block of 14th Street, near Harrison Street, police said. They found a woman who had been shot at least once. Officers tried to save her, and she was taken to a hospital, where she died. The Oakland Fire Department put the time of the shooting at about 1:35 a.m. The Alameda County coroner's office confirmed one death.
Citing initial police reports, The Mercury News said the woman had been in a confrontation with others on the sidewalk before someone opened fire, according to NBC Bay Area and Hoodline. Police have not said what started the confrontation or whether the victim and the arrested woman knew each other. They have not publicly named either woman. A video posted to social media and aired by KRON4 showed several police cars and an ambulance near Harrison and 14th, with caution tape across the street.
How the story changed through the day
Early reports on Sunday described the woman as in grave condition. They said some people had been detained for questioning but no one had been arrested. By Sunday evening, police said she had died and that a suspect was in custody. Authorities have not announced charges. Any charging decision would come from the Alameda County District Attorney's Office.
A possible link to the Warfield shooting
The San Francisco Chronicle reported that a streaming network had identified the victim as a cast member of a digital reality series. Police had not confirmed her name. The Chronicle also noted that last weekend a security guard was fatally shot at San Francisco's Warfield theater after a stage production of the same program, and that a suspect was arrested days later. Police have not said whether the two cases are connected.
A busy block, and separate reports
The 14th Street corridor near Harrison sits a few blocks from the 12th Street and 19th Street BART stations and has a busy late-night scene. In the KRON4 video, an onlooker can be heard saying someone was shot "at the club." Hoodline pointed out that earlier reporting described a separate downtown shooting on the 400 block of 14th Street. That incident happened at a different time and location, and it has not been tied to Sunday's killing.
Update Monday: family identifies the victim
KTVU reported Monday that family members identified the victim as Mackayla Paige, 29, known as "Kash," who appeared on reality shows including "Real West Coast Baddies," "RoomH8z" and "Young & Reckless." Loved ones set up a memorial on the 200 block of 14th Street, near Cave Lounge, the station said. Oakland police still have not publicly named the victim or the Richmond woman who was arrested, and have not said what led to the shooting.
Update Tuesday: police confirm her name, family speaks
NBC Bay Area reported that Oakland police have now identified the victim as Mackayla Paige. ABC7 said police, her family and the streaming network Now That's TV have all confirmed her identity, and that a memorial near 14th and Harrison streets keeps growing. Police have still not named the Richmond woman who was arrested, announced charges or said what led to the shooting, ABC7 reported.
Paige's cousin, Azima King, told NBC Bay Area the family is grieving and angry. "She was supposed to make it home," King said. She urged people to remember Paige, who modeled and wanted to act, for her ambitions rather than for a video of the confrontation that has circulated online. ABC7 said it had not independently verified what the circulating video shows.
How to share information
Oakland police ask anyone with information to call the homicide section at 510-238-3821 or the tip line at 510-238-7950. Photos or video can be emailed to [email protected].