'Our children were set up'; San Francisco shooting victim's mom searching for answers
SAN FRANCISCO -- The pain and questions surrounding the fatal shooting of her son continue to haunt Priscilla Carlson.
The shooting on April 3, 2022, at Alice Chalmers Park killed her 20-year-old son Kieran along with his friend 22-year-old Brandon Cheese of San Mateo. Two other men were wounded in the shooting. All four were hospitalized; Cheese and Carlson died of their injuries at the hospital.
Now a reward has been increased to $100,000 in the hopes of bringing in leads that will help police arrest a suspect.
"When I got the information that the reward has been upped to $100,000 I was really happy and excited," Carlson said. "However, I feel like a lot more can be done, and not so much in the amounts of the reward amount, but in the fact that SFPD and our homicide unit is overextended."
Carlson said she is grateful for the work that officers have put into the case, but knows their limitations.
"One of the officers on my case I had called him to check in with him about something, and he had shared with me that he had to do foot patrol at Union Square so that's taking away from our homicide unit," Carlson said. "I would like to call on (San Francisco mayor) London Breed and our city supervisors and our city officials. I'm begging and pleading with your guys please give SFPD more money, we need them."
The department is currently more than 500 officers short.
Carlson said the friends had been playing basketball at the park and had plans to attend a nearby barbeque, before they were ambushed. She was at home prepared fried chicken, which is what her son had requested earlier in the day.
"Our children were set up, and the mere fact that they did this in broad daylight, at a park, where there was little children playing, they need to be caught, they need to be taken off the streets," she said.
Carlson said her son had just enrolled in City College, and wanted to be a firefighter.
Cheese's family has planted this flower garden at the park to honor him.
