Hundreds remember teen brothers killed at Oakland party as uncle demands that lawmakers do more
BERKELEY, Calif. (KGO) -- Monday night two teenage brothers were remembered at their former middle school in Berkeley.
The two attended Berkeley High School and were killed at a birthday party in Oakland Saturday night.
Hundreds packed into Berkeley's Longfellow Middle School to remember the two teens, 17-year-old Jayz Sotelo Garcia and his 15-year-old brother Angel.
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"One of the most difficult things to do as a parent is to bury one of your children, but to bury two of them at the same time," said Clark Bowdry who is a member of the East Bay Dragons.
According to police, Jayz and Angel were fatally shot Saturday at an Airbnb rental property in Oakland that was being used for a house party. Detectives say there were around 30 people there when the shots were fired.
Some of those who attended Monday night's vigil for the boys knew them, others have kids who knew them.
"My son has been pretty quiet about the whole thing," said Jose Rubio of Berkeley. "I think it's just kind of sinking in. He had a little more to say about it today. He said it's just a sad day in school so I think he's just still processing it."
The vigil was held where both teens went to middle school. It was so crowded that the Longfellow lunchroom reached capacity and many people listened to speakers talk about the teens from outside the building.
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So many were still struggling with not only what happened to the teenagers, but the loss their mother is now dealing with as she raises their four siblings.
"We known each other since high school and we are very sorry," said Suelao Barajas, who is a friend of Jayz and Angel's mother.
"To see they were killed right there in my neighborhoods, my community it's sad," said Kim Cloud of Oakland.
The uncle of the two teens, Ruben Garcia, spoke with ABC7 News Monday evening with the help of a translator. He said he is thankful for all the community members who came to pay tribute to his nephews but believes local, state, and federal lawmakers need to do more to get guns off of the streets.
His full interview can be seen below.
ABC7 News spoke with a teacher who told us these murders hit very close to home. She taught both Jayz and Angel in grade school and then heard the sirens as emergency crews responded to the shooting Saturday night. She was still in a bit of disbelief over what had happened.
If you're on the ABC7 News app, click here to watch live
