Neighbors Grieve Over Deaths Of 2 Teen Girls In Oakland
OAKLAND (KCBS) — Police have not named any suspects as they continued their investigation into the killing of two teenage girls in East Oakland early Sunday morning. Meanwhile, neighbors who knew the victims are consumed with grief.
Around 5:30 a.m. Sunday, 16-year-old Bobbie Sartain and her best friend, 15-year-old Raquel Gerstel, were gunned down near the corner of Minna and Brookdale avenues. Authorities said at least 36 bullets were fired.
Jed Hamilton, who lives across the street, was woken up by his mother during the gunfire. Hamilton and several other neighbors tried to help Sartain and Gerstel, but the pair died.
KCBS' Doug Sovern Reports:
Three days after Sartain and Gerstel were killed, bullet holes from the shooting were seen on a parked car and the side of a house.
Police have not identified any suspects and are asking the public for help. Neighbors said they saw a white four-door Nissan Altima drive away around the time of the shooting.
The boyfriend of Sartain's mother said the girl stormed out of the house after an argument, shortly before she died.
"The dad's girlfriend had wanted to know what her last words were you know, and I wished I could have told her something, anything, but she couldn't talk," Hamilton said.
Small shrines for the victims were placed at the scene, with Teddy bears and candles. Someone left a note that read, "Sweetheart, though I did not know you before, I felt great love for you as you were going somewhere else."
Bobbie's family said she had been getting into trouble lately, and neighbors wonder if the murder was drug-related. Hamilton said, whoever killed the pair were casual about leaving the scene.
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