San Francisco prosecutors have charged a woman with murder in the death of a security guard who was shot outside the Warfield Theatre on Market Street early Saturday, city officials announced Wednesday.
Police arrested Shakia Vanderbilt, a San Francisco resident, on Tuesday. District Attorney Brooke Jenkins said at a news conference outside the theater that Vanderbilt faces a murder charge with an enhancement for personally using a gun, along with charges of firing into an occupied building and possessing a firearm as a felon. Reports differ on her age: police gave it as 42, while jail records and the district attorney's office list her as 32.
What happened
Officers were called to the 900 block of Market Street, between Taylor and Mason streets, at about 1 a.m. Saturday and found a man with a gunshot wound. They gave first aid until paramedics arrived, but he died at a hospital. The city medical examiner identified him as Ulysses Tykee Davis, 47, of Contra Costa County.
Davis was working security at the Mid-Market venue, which was hosting an 18-and-over stop on the "Baddies USA: Chapter Three" tour, tied to a reality TV series. His brother-in-law, Terrance Cooper, told KTVU that Davis was escorting a disruptive woman out of the theater when she allegedly shot him in the back. Davis' wife and two of his six children were there and saw it happen, Cooper said.
Jenkins described the scene that night as chaotic. Bartenders told Mission Local, as cited by The San Francisco Standard, that a chemical irritant was released inside during the event, sending people rushing toward the exits. Police have not said what led to the shooting itself.
The San Francisco Chronicle reported that Vanderbilt has been linked to a theft ring known as the Rainbow Crew.
A father of six
Friends and family knew Davis as "Bear." He grew up in the Bayview-Hunters Point neighborhood, and relatives described him as someone who always showed up when people needed help. Jenkins called the killing "heartbreaking" and "senseless," and said Davis was simply there doing his job.
What comes next
Vanderbilt was scheduled to be arraigned Thursday, and Jenkins said her office will ask the court to keep her in custody while the case proceeds. Separately, police said they are looking into whether the event had the proper permits and was run within them. Neither the Warfield nor the company that produces "Baddies" had responded to KTVU's requests for comment.