Prosecutors in Northern California charged Vernika Dunbar, 38, with felony involuntary manslaughter in the death of her younger sister, reality television personality Mackayla “Kash” Paige, 29, who was shot and killed during a fight outside a downtown Oakland, Calif., nightclub early Sunday, Oct. 11, 2026.
The Alameda County District Attorney’s Office filed the charge against Dunbar, along with counts of assault with a firearm and gun violations tied to an attempted pistol-whipping.
The Oakland Police Department (OPD) took Dunbar into custody the same day as the killing, the department confirmed. Officers booked her into Santa Rita Jail early Oct. 11. She is held without bail.
Police Say Pistol-Whip Turned Deadly
Police said Dunbar came to her sister’s defense during the brawl. She tried to pistol-whip a woman who was fighting with Paige, according to the police account. Investigators say she instead fired the shot that struck and killed her sister.
Officers answered reports of a shooting near 14th and Harrison Streets at about 1:30 a.m. They found a 29-year-old Richmond woman with at least one gunshot wound. Officers attempted lifesaving measures, and she died at a hospital.
A TikTok video showed a heavy police presence outside Cave Lounge, near the shooting location. Police have made no statement on what led to the violence that night and have disclosed no motive.
A separate video circulating online purports to show an altercation involving Paige before her death. Police have not confirmed the circumstances of that footage, and it has not been independently verified.
Memorial Grows at Oakland Intersection
A memorial has grown at the intersection where Paige was shot. Loved ones gathered at the scene near 14th and Harrison Streets on Monday, Oct. 12.
Azima King, Paige’s cousin, said the loss is still difficult to process. She described herself as floating and shaking in the hours after the shooting.
“She just wanted better for her life. And she wanted to be better. And she wanted to change,” King told ABC7 Eyewitness News on Monday, Oct. 12.
King said Paige had ambitions stretching well beyond reality television. She has urged the public to wait for facts rather than trade rumors online, and said the family has the situation in hand.
The investigation into Paige’s killing remains open. Oakland police asked anyone with information or video related to the shooting to contact the department’s homicide section at 510-238-3821.
Paige built her following through appearances on Now That’s TV, a streaming platform whose programming often centers on dramatic, physical confrontations. She was known for the shows “Young & Reckless,” “Real West Coast Baddies,” “Room H8z” and “Now That’s Riot.” The network paid tribute to her in an Instagram post on Sunday, Oct. 11, saying her memory would live on.
Guard Killed Outside Warfield Theater
Paige’s death followed another fatal shooting tied to the Bay Area’s reality television scene. Security guard Ulysses Tykee Davis, 47, a father of six, was shot and killed outside San Francisco’s Warfield Theater on Oct. 3. Davis was killed after an event associated with “Baddies USA,” a series on the separate Zeus Network.
Prosecutors charged Shakia Vanderbilt, 32, with murder in Davis’ death. There is no evidence the two shootings are connected.
Researcher Questions ‘Harmless Entertainment’ Defense
Both cases have renewed scrutiny of reality programs built around physical altercations. Some social media users are calling for the shows to be canceled.
Dr. Donnetrice Allison, chair of the Africana Studies Department at Stockton University in New Jersey, has spent years researching the portrayal of Black women on reality television. She said the scramble for online attention can push participants toward increasingly extreme behavior.
Allison questioned the common defense of the genre. “People say ‘It’s harmless entertainment.’ I really don’t think it’s that,” Allison said.
She raised concerns about the role of producers in encouraging confrontations. She also pointed to on-screen conduct shaping off-screen behavior.