Teen slain in Oakland; family fears brother, 13, did it

17-year-old Justice Toliver was fatally shot in her Oakland apartment on Thursday, following an apparent argument with her younger brother. 17-year-old Justice Toliver was fatally shot in her Oakland apartment on Thursday, following an apparent argument with her younger brother. Photo: CBS San Francisco Photo: CBS San Francisco Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Teen slain in Oakland; family fears brother, 13, did it 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

A 17-year-old girl was shot to death by a relative in her family's apartment Thursday in Oakland's Chinatown, police said.

Investigators suspect Justice Toliver's 13-year-old brother shot her, according to relatives, who pleaded for him to turn himself in. Police said only that a relative was responsible but did not say if the shooting was intentional.

The girl was shot in a fifth-floor apartment on the 800 block of Franklin Street about 12:15 p.m., police said. She died at the scene, said Officer Johnna Watson, a police spokeswoman.

"She was a beautiful kid, a beautiful young lady," said Juanita Walton, a friend of Toliver's mother. "She was just your typical kid."

Walton said Toliver and her brother lived in the apartment with their grandmother and were "really feuding." The fighting stemmed, she said, from when Toliver "bleached his clothes the other day."

"It's sad for two siblings to go at it like that," Walton said. "They're both just kids. And where did he get the gun? Who gave that little boy a gun?"

Relatives said Toliver had a 3-year-old daughter and worked at a McDonald's.

"All she did was go to work, take care of her baby and look after our grandmother," said a cousin, Leah Patterson, 28.

Wanda Brown, the siblings' other grandmother, had a message for the 13-year-old boy: "Grandson, Grandma Wanda is asking you, please do the right thing. Please. And I love you. I love you with all my heart."

Brown said while sister and brother had bickered, they were "two peas in a pod." They loved to shop, watch movies and sing together, she said.

The siblings' uncle, Lamont Andrews, 35, rushed to Oakland from his warehouse job in Sacramento as soon as he heard the news. His large family gathered outside the apartment complex, hugging, making phone calls and looking after Toliver's daughter.

Andrews said he hoped the shooting was an accident, though that wasn't what he was hearing.

"I wish God or someone could have spoken to him," Andrews said. "You can't have violence against your own family."

He added, "Teach your kids better morals and respect for one another. Lead by example. Change your life if you're doing the wrong thing."