A 22-year-old man who police said was slain in San Francisco on Sunday over a PlayStation 4 gaming console he was trying to sell was back home in the Bay Area for the Thanksgiving holiday, a family member said today.
Ikenna Uwakah was a student at Santa Monica College in Santa Monica, Calif., and was home visiting family for the long weekend, according to his brother, Obinna Uwakah.
The shooting occurred at about 3:30 p.m. near Mendell Street and Galvez Avenue in the city’s Bayview District, where police said Uwakah went with his girlfriend to meet the buyer after arranging the sale online.
Police said Uwakah was shot even before he got out of his car. Afterward, he was driven to a spot near Bayshore Boulevard and Jerrold Avenue, and officers were called there. They found him wounded in the passenger seat of the car.
He was transported to San Francisco General Hospital, where he died a short time later, police said.
Police took a suspect into custody this morning in connection with the shooting, and have identified him as Ronnie Collins, a 21-year-old San Francisco resident.
Collins was arrested on suspicion of murder and attempted robbery, police said.
Obinna Uwakah said his family is stunned by Ikenna’s death.
“A lot of shock, a lot of disbelief,” he said.
He described his brother as “a kid that brightened up every room he arrived in.”
Friends took to social media sites to grieve.
“Blessed to know someone as joyful and genuine as you. Still wishing this was some elaborate hoax,” one Twitter user wrote.
Another wrote that Uwakah has “been a legend since day 1. Larger than life. He lives on thru the lives he affected.”
The killing remains under investigation. Anyone with information is encouraged to call the Police Department’s homicide detail at (415) 553-1145, the anonymous tip line at (415) 575-4444 or send a tip by text message to TIP411 with “SFPD” in the message.
Dan McMenamin, Bay City News
