Male, 18, Charged In Possible Accidental Shooting Death Near Lake Merritt

OAKLAND, CA – An 18-year-old Oakland teen was charged with involuntary manslaughter today for fatally shooting another teen in an apparent accident at the 18-year-old's residence near Lake Merritt on Wednesday morning.

Marco Palma-Cruz was also charged with felony discharging a firearm with gross negligence for allegedly shooting 17-year-old Luis Urquidez inside his residence in the 800 block of East 18th Street at about
7:14 a.m. on Wednesday.

Oakland police Officer Jose Barocio wrote in a probable cause statement that officers who responded to the shooting found Urquidez suffering from a single shot in his upper torso.

Urquidez was transported to nearby Highland Hospital but was pronounced dead about three hours later, police said.

A witness told police that Palma-Cruz had been playing with a firearm and had shot Urquidez, Barocio said.

When police interviewed Palma-Cruz he admitted to playing with a firearm and said he accidentally fired a round toward Urquidez, according to Barocio.

Another witness admitted that he had removed the firearm from inside the residence and hid it from law enforcement but told officers that he would take them to the firearm so that they could recover it, Barocio
wrote.

Palma-Cruz was arraigned at the Wiley Manuel Courthouse in Oakland today and is being held at the Santa Rita Jail in Dublin.

On Tuesday, a 42-year-old man was found murdered in the same vicinity. STORY HERE: Man Shot Dead Near Lake Merritt.

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