Woman killed, 2 wounded by gunfire in Western Addition

Friends and family members of 19-year-old Ranisha Raven gather near a memorial of flowers and candles Monday near where the young woman was gunned down Saturday night. Police have not identified or arrested any suspects in the killing. less Friends and family members of 19-year-old Ranisha Raven gather near a memorial of flowers and candles Monday near where the young woman was gunned down Saturday night. Police have not identified or arrested any ... more Photo: Evan Sernoffsky / Evan Sernoffsky Photo: Evan Sernoffsky / Evan Sernoffsky Image 1 of / 10 Caption Close Woman killed, 2 wounded by gunfire in Western Addition 1 / 10 Back to Gallery

An innocent 19-year-old woman shot to death over the weekend when at least one assailant opened fire on her and a group of friends hanging out at a small park in their San Francisco neighborhood was described by grieving loved ones Monday as “bright and outgoing.”

Ranisha Raven was shot in the stomach about 11 p.m. Saturday when a barrage of gunfire was unleashed near the intersection of Buchanan Street and Larch Way in the Western Addition, wounding two other victims, including a 16-year-old girl.

The shooting occurred on the Buchanan Street Mall, a strip of land blighted by drugs and gang violence that community leaders have been proposing to spruce up with a $187,000 grant from the Trust for Public Land.

As police searched Monday for two possible shooters, reviewed security footage from around the scene, and tried to piece together a motive for the violence, relatives and friends mourned Raven at a growing makeshift memorial of flowers, candles, stuffed animals and condolence notes at the spot she was gunned down, just one block west of Jefferson Square Park.

“She was bright and outgoing, very social,” Raven’s aunt, 28-year-old Shannon Watts, said while laying flowers at the memorial. “She had a lot of close friends, and she was very loved. She loved her family most importantly.”

The victim’s brother, 18-year-old LaRon Miller, said he was among the crowd who was shot at and witnessed his sister fall to the ground.

“She was just beautiful,” Miller said. “I haven’t coped with it yet.”

The fatal bullet struck Raven in her abdomen, causing massive bleeding.

A 16-year-old girl and a 33-year-old man were shot in the legs and all three were rushed to San Francisco General Hospital, but Raven died before she got there, police said. The other victims, who were not named, were expected to recover.

Police do not believe she was the target of the shooting.

‘She was very creative’

Raven, who was born and raised in San Francisco, loved fashion and shopping for clothes, her family said.

“She was very creative,” Watts said, adding that Raven earned money through various jobs and was destined to be an entrepreneur. “She had her hustle.”

Raven’s cousin and roommate, Shalik Donnell, 18, lives around the corner from the slaying scene and was standing alongside the young woman when the attackers opened fire. She heard the gunfire and ran, but moments later, Donnell realized her friends were hit and ran back to help them.

“I just feel really emotional,” she said, doubled over by grief and crying quietly next to the memorial. “I’m used to seeing her every day.”

The 16-year-old victim was leaning against a wall with a gunshot wound to the upper thigh, while Raven lay bleeding a few feet away.

“She was laying there dying,” Donnell said, describing how she ran back and forth, trying to help both victims. “She lost so much blood.”

Police have not identified any suspects in the killing, and it was not clear if there was more than one shooter. A family friend of Raven’s who lives at the complex said she heard what seemed like dozens of gunshots.

Police seek motive

Keisha, who didn’t want to give her last name, said she woke up to “countless shots, way too many.” The 34-year-old woman then ran outside to see what happened. “It was a real nightmare, a real horror scene watching it,” she said.

Homicide inspectors with the San Francisco Police Department were working to determine a motive for the killing, while two officers in a patrol car sat monitoring the scene throughout the day Monday.

Evan Sernoffsky is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: esernoffsky@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @EvanSernoffsky