Oakland police ID teen killed in shooting falsely reported as San Francisco homicide

OAKLAND — Authorities here have identified an 18-year-old woman who was shot to death on May 22 in a shooting that was erroneously reported to San Francisco police under suspicious circumstances.

Bre’Elle Vercher, also known as Bre’Elle Vercher Nichols, was shot and killed on the 3700 block of Manilla Avenue. Despite the shooting’s close proximity to the Kaiser Permanente hospital in Oakland, police say a man and woman drove Vercher over the Bay Bridge to a hospital in San Francisco, then falsely reported police the shooting had happened there, authorities said.

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

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

“She graduated, she got her drivers license, worked, and stayed close to her mom. She loved doing hair, baking and spending time with friends,” the GoFundMe page says. “She also had plans of attending the local college in the fall.”

The fundraiser, to cover funeral and memorial expenses and other end-of-life costs, had raised nearly $2,500 of a $15,000 goal as of Wednesday afternoon.