Prosecutors in Northern California have charged a 38-year-old woman with involuntary manslaughter in the death of her younger sister, reality television personality Mackayla “Kash” Paige, who was shot and killed during a fight outside a downtown Oakland, Calif., nightclub early Sunday, Oct. 11, 2026.
The Oakland Police Department (OPD) confirmed the arrest of Paige’s sister, Vernika Dunbar, 38, who was taken into custody the same day as the killing. Paige was 29.
The Alameda County District Attorney’s Office has since filed a felony involuntary manslaughter charge against Dunbar, along with assault with a firearm and gun violations connected to an attempted pistol-whipping.
What Police Say Happened Outside the Club
According to Oakland police, Dunbar came to her sister’s defense during the brawl and tried to pistol-whip a woman who was fighting with Paige. Instead, investigators say, she fired the shot that struck and killed her sister.
Officers responded to reports of a shooting near 14th and Harrison streets at about 1:30 a.m. and found a 29-year-old Richmond woman suffering from at least one gunshot wound. They attempted lifesaving measures before she was taken to a hospital, where she died. Dunbar is also a Richmond resident.
Video posted to TikTok showed a heavy police presence outside Cave Lounge, near the location of the shooting. Police have not said what led to the violence that night and have not disclosed a motive.
Separately, video circulating online purports to show an altercation involving Paige before her death. Police have not confirmed the circumstances depicted in that footage, and it has not been independently verified.
A Growing Memorial in Downtown Oakland
A memorial has grown at the intersection where Paige was shot, and loved ones gathered at the scene near 14th and Harrison streets on Monday, Oct. 12, to remember her.
Her cousin, Azima King, said the loss remained difficult to process, describing herself as floating and shaking in the hours after the shooting. She said Paige had ambitions that stretched well beyond reality television.
“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 has also urged the public to wait for facts rather than trade rumors online, saying the family has the situation in hand.
Paige built a following through her appearances on Now That’s TV, a streaming platform whose programming often centers on dramatic, physical confrontations. She was known for shows including “Young & Reckless,” “Real West Coast Baddies,” “Room H8z” and “Now That’s Riot.” The network remembered her in an Instagram tribute posted Sunday, Oct. 11, writing that her memory would live on.
Questions About Reality TV Fights
Paige’s death followed another fatal shooting tied to the Bay Area’s reality television scene. On Oct. 3, security guard Ulysses Tykee Davis, 47, a father of six, was shot and killed outside San Francisco’s Warfield Theatre after an event associated with “Baddies USA,” a series on the separate Zeus Network. Prosecutors have charged Shakia Vanderbilt, 32, with murder in Davis’ death. There is no evidence the two shootings are connected.
Together, the two cases have renewed scrutiny of reality programs built around physical altercations, with some social media users 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 how Black women are portrayed on reality television. She said the scramble for online attention can push participants toward increasingly extreme behavior, and she questioned the common defense of the genre.
“People say ‘It’s harmless entertainment.’ I really don’t think it’s that,” Allison said. She also raised concerns about the role producers play in encouraging confrontations, and about how conduct shown on screen can shape behavior off of it.
The investigation into Paige’s killing remains open. Oakland police are asking anyone with information or video related to the shooting to come forward, and the department’s homicide section can be reached at 510-238-3821.
