A vigil was held Monday night to honor four men shot to death over the weekend in a trendy San Francisco neighborhood.
The emotional event - filled with tears and sometimes anger - took place at the African American Art & Culture Complex on Fulton Street in the city’s Western Addition, seven blocks from Laguna and Page streets, where the four young men were shot dead. Another event, later in the evening, was held at the San Francisco Zen Center, across the street from the slayings, where Supervisors London Breed and Scott Wiener, Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi and Police Chief Greg Suhr came to the gathering.
"These are four boys who are human beings who were killed," said one of the organizers, Mohammed Soriano Bilal. "We are disturbed at the way they are are being portrayed."
The San Francisco Medical Examiner on Monday identified those killed as: Yalani Chinyamurindi, 19; Harith Atchan, 21; and Manuel O’Neal, 22, all of San Francisco; and David Saucier, 20, of Antioch.
Chinyamurindi posted online that he is an actor and model and the son of actor Michael Chinaymurindi, whose voice was in the 2006 "Curious George," and who played bit parts in the TV series "ER," "West Wing," "The X-Files," "NYPD Blue," and "Chicago Hope," among others. Reached by phone in Los Angeles on Monday, Chinaymurindi declined to speak about his son's death.
His sister, Takiya Chandler, yelled to the crowd, with tears streaming down her face that her brother was so young and people have to "take a stand for life." Chinyamurindi's mother, Conswelo Raybon, also spoke through tears. "We've got to stop this killing."
O'Neal used to attend Gateway Public Schools in San Francisco before moving to Sacramento when he was 15, according to Sharon Olken, executive director.
She said that "O'Neal was physically small, but had a big prescence at school. He was very thoughtful and was a good member of the school community," adding he never got into trouble.
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Saucier worked at UPS and as a security guard, and his girlfriend was pregnant, is mother, Pamela Wilson, told the San Francisco Chronicle.
Police said the four were killed late Friday while they sat double-parked in a stolen car, in what was likely a gang-related attack.
But Eli Crawford, a reformed gang member who attended the vigil, said that "they weren't no gang members."
Residents reported hearing at least 15 shots. The suspects sped off in a car. A newer model gray Scion was seen leaving the area. And as of Monday, police had not announced any arrests.
Police told NBC Bay Area the area has a history of gang violence. But neighbors said the shooting came as a shock because lately, the area has been safe.
"I'm sure there are places in the city where it happens," business owner Trey Degrassi said. "You hear about it in Oakland all the time, but not so much here."
Following the vigil, residents and family members of the slain victims marched to the scene of the attack
Investigators are talking to witnesses for information and hoping to look at video footage from the scene. Anyone with information on the homicide is asked to call SFPD at (415) 575-444 or send a tip by text message to TIP411 with SFPD at the start of the message.
NBC Bay Area's Riya Bhattacharjee, Jean Ellie and Kim Tere contributed to this report.
