Emotional vigil turns into passionate march for BART stabbing victim Nia Wilson in Oakland

Byby Kate Larsen KGO logo
Tuesday, July 24, 2018
Emotional vigil turns into passionate march for BART stabbing victim in Oakland
A vigil turned demonstration was filled with frustration in Oakland as family, friends, and supporters of Nia Wilson gathered at the Oakland BART station where the 18-year-old was stabbed to death Sunday night by a stranger.

OAKLAND, Calif. (KGO) -- A vigil turned demonstration was filled with frustration in Oakland as family, friends, and supporters of Nia Wilson gathered at the Oakland BART station where the 18-year-old was stabbed to death Sunday night by a stranger.

VIDEO: 'Remember Her' A tribute to Nia Wilson

Nia Wilson was just 18 years old when she was killed in an unprovoked stabbing at MacArthur BART station in Oakland. Fighting through sorrow, her friends, family, and the community at large are mourning the teenager who brightened the lives of those she knew, and has inspired many who never got the chance.

"Stop killing our kids," the crowd changed.

"I feel that the community has failed people of color for one. I feel that BART has failed us from the beginning with Oscar Grant," said Jinina Knox, a friend of Wilson's family.

VIDEO: This is the moment the BART stabbing suspect was arrested

John Cowell is accused of killing 18-year-old Nia Wilson and injuring her sister Letifah Wilson at MacArthur BART. He was arrested Monday afternoon at a different BART station in Pleasant Hill.

She and hundreds of others gathered at the station and and spilled on to the street while they expressed their outrage.

"How do we let a man get on BART, slit a woman's throat, stab her to death, and walk off through our community and no stopping him?" Knox questioned.

RELATED: Here's how you can help the family of BART stabbing victim Nia Wilson

"She didn't do nothing to nobody," said Wilson's sister Letifah, who was injured in the incident. "I didn't do nothing to nobody."

Letifah is Wilson's older sister. She had a bandage on her neck where she was stabbed.

VIDEO: What we know about the deadly stabbing at Oakland's MacArthur BART station

Here's everything we know about the attack that claimed the life of 18-year-old Nia Wilson.

The sisters were leaving a family gathering together when police say John Cowell attacked them with a knife.

"She's just yelling my name, 'Tifah, Tifah, Tifah' and I said, 'I got you baby, I got you,'" Letifah told ABC7 News. "And I looked back and he was wiping off his knife and stood at the stairs and just looked."

Behind the megaphone and between the chants, there was also silence and tears -- evidence of deep suffering in Oakland.

"Part of the pain and the anger here today, yes, is about this horrific crime which must be denounced," said Oakland City Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan. "But also about the broader pattern of black people being arrested and pulled over when black people are victims of violence feeling that it's taken less seriously."

Go here for full coverage on the stabbing at Oakland's MacArthur BART station that took the life of 18-year-old Nia Wilson.

CONTINUING COVERAGE ON DEADLY BART STABBING: