Police Say Kash's Sister Tried to Pistol-Whip Someone. Kash Was Killed Instead.

Mackayla “Kash” Paige went out in Oakland over the weekend and never made it home. At first, the reporting was that a woman had been arrested after the 29-year-old reality personality was shot. Now investigators are saying the woman accused of firing the gun was her own sister. And the way authorities say this happened is even more heartbreaking.

The Alameda County District Attorney's Office charged 38-year-old Vernika Dunbar with involuntary manslaughter after Paige was fatally shot early Sunday, October 11, according to KTVU, citing Oakland police and prosecutors. Dunbar is accused of attempting to hit another woman with a pistol during a fight involving Paige. Investigators say the weapon fired and struck Paige instead. These are allegations; Dunbar has not been convicted.

What happened on 14th Street

Police were called to the 200 block of 14th Street, near Harrison Street in downtown Oakland, around 1:30 a.m. Officers found Paige with a gunshot wound. Emergency workers attempted lifesaving measures, and she was transported to a hospital, where she died.

KTVU reports Dunbar faces involuntary manslaughter, assault with a firearm and additional gun-related charges. More detailed court-record reporting describes alleged carrying and brandishing offenses. The exact events that set off the original altercation, and how the firearm discharged, are questions for the investigation and court process.

What really fucks me up is how the footage looks. In clips circulating online, a woman viewers identify as the shooter appears to walk away while Kash is on the ground. I can't tell from those seconds whether she came back, called for help, or what happened outside the frame. ABC7 previously said it had not independently verified whether the video shows the fatal encounter. But that image is hard as hell to shake.

The most fucked-up part? It looks like she's just left there

If that clip shows what people believe it shows, think about how heartbreaking that is. One sister is on the ground, and the person people believe is her sister appears to be moving away. Now, I'm not gonna sit here and pretend I can prove she didn't care, or that she never went back. People respond differently in a panic, and a short video can't tell us everything. But seeing what looks like somebody leaving their own sister there? That shit bothers me more than almost anything else about this story.

You can be mad because somebody is fighting your family. You can want to help. But once a loaded gun enters the situation, everybody around you is at risk—including the person you're trying to stand beside. That isn't protecting anybody. That's gambling with lives.

And none of us should act like charging someone with involuntary manslaughter means there's nothing more to learn. The legal charges describe what prosecutors believe they can prove. The full evidence, any defense, and the final result belong in court.

Kash was working toward more than reality TV

Paige appeared on Now That's TV shows including Young & Reckless and Real West Coast Baddies, and the network paid tribute to her after her death. But the people who knew her are asking that viewers remember more than an argument or a shocking final clip.

Her cousin Azima King told NBC Bay Area that Kash dreamed of a bigger entertainment career, loved having fun, and wanted positive energy around her. According to earlier reporting, she had interests in acting, modeling and beauty entrepreneurship. Friends and relatives gathered near the shooting scene for a memorial as the news spread.

I don't think someone's name should become nothing but a fight video. If your only interest in Kash now is to replay what happened to her over and over, you've missed the fact that a 29-year-old woman had people who loved her and plans she never got to finish.

Does reality TV deserve part of this conversation?

People are already looking at the fighting-centered shows Kash appeared on and asking whether a culture of viral confrontations encourages real-world violence. It's a fair subject to discuss. ABC7 interviewed Africana Studies scholar Donnetrice Allison about the influence of conflict-driven entertainment and the incentives social media can create.

But there is no verified evidence that a particular TV production caused this shooting. We can criticize making violence into content without claiming a TV show is responsible for a crime before the investigation supports it.

My take

This shit is sad. A 29-year-old woman is dead. Her own sister is facing serious criminal charges. But the image I keep coming back to is Kash on the ground while the woman people identify as her sister appears to walk away. Like, damn. That's your sister. That is the part of this whole situation that really fucks me up.

I'm not saying a short clip proves she abandoned Kash, never called for help, or felt no remorse. It doesn't. We don't know what happened outside the camera's view. But I don't blame anybody for finding that moment disturbing, and I still think introducing a loaded gun into a fistfight is reckless as hell. Police allege the consequences were fatal; a court still has to determine criminal responsibility.

You can have someone's back without escalating a situation to a point nobody can undo. Sometimes the best way to protect somebody you love is to get them out of the damn fight.

Rest in peace to Kash. I hope her family gets the answers they deserve, and I hope the rest of us remember her as more than the worst moment of her life.

Original reporting and non-graphic video

Reporting note — October 14, 2026: The charges described here are allegations, not convictions. The online footage's full context and the actions outside the camera's view have not been independently established. Non-graphic KTVU coverage and original reporting are linked and credited. Photographs published by news organizations are linked at their sources rather than reproduced without permission.