2 teen brothers shot dead at Oakland house party leave behind 4 younger siblings
BERKELEY, Calif. (KGO) -- 17-year-old Jayz Sotelo Garcia and his 15-year-old brother Angel were both killed Saturday night just before 10 p.m. in Oakland.
"It's soul-crushing. I was speaking to my dad earlier and that was the first time in my 18 years of life I've heard him cry," said Melani Garcia.
Garcia is Jayz and Angel's cousin. She says the two teens went to Berkeley High School.
"The general consensus is, they went to a birthday party at an Airbnb. I think there was a verbal altercation or disagreement," Garcia said.
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A woman who lives only steps from the bright blue house on Apgar Street in Oakland where there was a party Saturday night says three hours before the shooting an SUV pulled up with a handful of teens inside.
"A few hours later, I was in my living room, and I heard 10 to 12 rapid-fire shots, then a bunch of kids screaming," she said.
She says a car then made a fast getaway, as many of the teens ran away - some of them wounded - leaving a trail of blood.
Garcia says Jayz and Angel were the oldest of six and were always helping their mother. She says they were role models for their four young siblings.
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"They idolized them. They'd always be like, 'Where are you going? Take me with you. I want to go with you.'"
Garcia fought back tears as we spoke with her Sunday night. She said Jayz had become excited about going to college and Angel was so outgoing, someone who just loved living life.
She's angered that some have jumped to their own conclusions about her cousins. She says they were good kids.
"From my perspective, it feels like you see two young brown kids who are victims of gun violence and most people's minds automatically jump to gang association. That's not true. My little boys weren't affiliated with anything. They were just at the wrong place at the wrong time," Garcia said.
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She continued referring to Jayz and then Angel: "He was in the process of learning and he was really excited about learning. Angel, that's my little sweetheart. Angel was always very heartwarming."
A vigil will be held for the two teens at Longfellow Middle School on Monday night at 7 p.m..
A GoFundMe page has been started for the family of the boys who is now planning two funerals. Their GoFundMe page can be found here.
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