Oakland police identify teenager killed in shooting mistakenly reported as homicide in San Francisco

OAKLAND – Authorities here have determined the identity of an 18-year-old woman who was shot and killed May 22 in a shooting that was falsely reported to San Francisco police under suspicious circumstances.

Bre’Elle Vercher, also known as Bre’Elle Vercher Nichols, was shot and killed in the 3700 block of Manilla Avenue. Despite the proximity of Kaiser Permanente hospital in Oakland, police said, a man and woman drove Vercher across the Bay Bridge to a hospital in San Francisco and then falsely told police the shooting occurred there, authorities said.

Police later confirmed, using surveillance footage and other evidence, that Vercher was indeed shot in Oakland around 10:30 p.m. on May 22. Police say she was observed arguing with a woman earlier that evening. The shooting remains under investigation and no arrests have been announced, authorities said.

A GoFundMe page in Vercher’s memory says medical examiners told her family that “a delay in treatment” contributed to her death. It says she had just turned 18 and was looking forward to life as a “new adult.”

“She graduated, got her driver’s license, worked, and stayed close to her mother. She loved doing hair, baking, and spending time with friends,” the GoFundMe page states. “She also had plans to attend the local college in the fall.”

As of Wednesday afternoon, the fundraiser to cover funeral, bereavement and other bereavement expenses had raised nearly $2,500 of the $15,000 goal.