Teen shot dead in East Oakland — suspect held

A 17-year-old boy was shot and killed in East Oakland, and an 18-year-old suspect is in custody, police said Wednesday.

Edward McGowan of Oakland was a passenger inside a sport utility vehicle parked on the 7500 block of Garfield Avenue when a dispute erupted about 6:45 p.m. Tuesday, leading to gunfire, police said.

McGowan was hit and died at the scene.

Someone drove the SUV to Highland Hospital in Oakland, where 18-year-old Deante Antonio Miller was treated for minor wounds before police arrested him on suspicion of murder.

Miller is being held without bail at the infirmary at Santa Rita Jail in Dublin.

McGowan was a senior at Dewey Academy near Lake Merritt in Oakland and had recently transferred there from Fremont High School in Oakland, said Troy Flint, spokesman for the Oakland Unified School District.

“It’s heartbreaking to see another young life cut short and another family robbed of a loved one, particularly a student who was on the cusp of graduation and hopefully progressing to bigger and better things,” Flint said.

In a letter to the community, Superintendent Antwan Wilson said he was “devastated” after hearing that McGowan had been killed. Wilson said he had reached out to the victim’s relatives to express his condolences.

“I realize there is no consolation for the death of a child,” Wilson wrote. “What we can do is to hold Edward’s memory tight and to honor it by redoubling our efforts to eradicate the violence that plagues our city, harms our children and prevents us from reaching our potential as a community and as a school district.”

Henry K. Lee is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: hlee@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @henryklee