Update, Aug. 16: A fundraiser to help the family of Terrence McCrary Jr. has already raised more than $12,000. Learn more.
A fundraiser has also been launched to help pay for funeral costs for Craig Fletcher-Cooks, and a memorial is being planned. Learn more.
Update, Aug. 15: Both young men killed Sunday outside a downtown Oakland art gallery during a birthday party were Berkeley High alumni. See the update.
Original story, Aug. 14: A 2011 Berkeley High graduate was shot and killed Sunday morning during an altercation at a birthday party, one of two Berkeley High School grads killed this week.
Another man also died in Sunday’s shooting and a third was seriously injured, according to Oakland police.
The names of the victims have not been released, but Berkeleyside has learned that one of those shot was 22-year-old Terrence McCrary Jr., a Berkeley resident and a 2011 Berkeley High graduate. McCrary was known to many as Terrence Mack.
Sunday at approximately 12:53 a.m., Oakland police rushed to the 300 block of 15th Street after a report that shots had been fired. Police saw a large number of people fleeing the area, according to a press release. When they arrived, officers found two men suffering from gunshot wounds. Officers conducted first aid until paramedics arrived, but both men were pronounced dead at the scene.
Police found another man with gunshots a few blocks away, according to a statement released by OPD. He was taken by ambulance to an area hospital for treatment.
According to interviews with some of Mack’s friends, the 22-year-old had been attending a birthday party at Prime Development art gallery on 15th Street. At one point during the party, an argument between groups escalated into a fight. After punches were thrown, at least two gunmen began firing shots inside and outside the party, striking three people in the process, according to Mack’s friends.
Friends of Mack are asking anyone with information to let police know what might have happened. Wrote one, on Twitter: “If you know the niggas that did that shit last night. Speak out. Fuck the code of the streets.”
Mack’s death follows the recent death of another Berkeley High graduate, 23-year-old Marne’e Causey, who was shot and killed earlier this week in East Oakland.
According to police, officers received a call about a shooting in the 7400 block of Fresno Street around 3:10 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 9. When they arrived, they found a woman suffering from an apparent gunshot wound. She was pronounced dead at the scene. The woman was Causey.
Both Mack and Causey were members of Berkeley High’s 2011 graduating class. They also graduated from King Middle School together in 2007.
Mack worked as a sales associate at Bows and Arrows shoe store on Telegraph Avenue and was described by friends as a lovable person with a bright soul.
In an interview with KTVU, Causey’s mother, Kenitra Love, credited her daughter for prompting her to pull her life together.
“She saved my life. I matured a lot because of her,” Love told KTVU.
No suspects have been identified in either case. Anyone with information can contact the Oakland Police Department at 510-283-3821 or CrimeStoppers at 510-777-8572.
Friends of Mack’s posted tributes to him on social media on Sunday. A few are shared below.
Reporter’s note: I had the pleasure of growing up with both Marnee and Terrence. Marnee was extremely outspoken and I think I speak for many when I say she was truly the life of the party. The same can be said for Terrence. His love for people and photography is what kept him at every event and social gathering. We lost two great young people this past week, and my heart aches for their friends and families. May their souls rest in peace.
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Editor’s note: This story was updated after publication to include Terrence McCrary’s official name, and the fact that he was a “Jr.”
