With little information to go on as of Tuesday morning (June 25), the San Diego Police Department issued an appeal to La Jolla businesses and residents with surveillance equipment facing Pearl Street near Cuvier Street to help them solve the homicide of 20-year-old Nina Silver, which took place around 12:39 a.m. June 23 in the alley of 7500 Cuvier Street.
Police report Silver, a Poway High School graduate in the class of 2017, was shot and killed — and three others were shot and injured — when a light-colored sedan drove north in the alley and an occupant from the vehicle fired rounds at the victims. There is no description of the occupants of the vehicle. The other victims were a 23-year-old black male, and two 19-year-old black males, all of whom are considered in stable condition after being treated for gunshot wounds to the upper body at area hospitals.
Police have learned there was a party at a residence in the 7500 block of Cuvier Street. Guests of the party were standing near the alley, which is adjacent the Prince Chapel by the Sea African Methodist Church and the southern athletic field of The Bishop’s School.
Lt. Anthony Dupree told La Jolla Light police did not have details about the party, including the type, host or how many attendees were there.
“It seems everything happened in the alley, but the victims were from the party,” Dupree said. “We assume (the shooters) are related to the party, but we do not know. We don’t know who the shooters are, as no one could identify them, or provide details about the car, including its license plate or make and model.”
Dupree added police do not know if the victims “were the intended targets.”
“So we are trying to reach businesses in the surrounding area for any video surveillance taken around 12:40 a.m. Sunday, June 23, which would help us a lot.”
After receiving the call of “shots fired,” on the night of the incident, officers arrived on scene a few minutes later and located Silver and the 23-year-old black male with gunshot wounds to their upper body.
Officers performed life-saving measures on the victims until relieved by San Diego Fire Department Paramedics. Silver was pronounced dead at the hospital.
Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to call the Homicide Unit at (619) 531-2293 or Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477.
Michelle Carcel, a La Jolla psychologist, lives above the apartment where the party occurred.
“I thought it was a car that backfired and I woke up to that,” she said. “There are parties that happen there, but nothing as big as this. Never in 10 years have I seen a party like this.”
She said she observed “20 to 25 young people” by the time she went outside, and that there was screaming and people dispersing.
“I am a psychologist and I do work in trauma,” Carcel added. “I’ve done many talks on mass shootings. I’ve talked about Parkland, the Texas shooting, the Vegas shooting. It was kind of amazing to have it happen in our backyard. We’re just all kind of coping. The neighbors are all processing it together. It’s kind of a shock and we’re going through the stages of grief.
“A lot of times, when there’s something like this, it’s subjective to the person. But the biggest thing is to get support, to make sure you have your family and friends. Especially if you witnessed it, there will be symptoms of acute stress, which is the precursor for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). … Unfortunately, shootings are becoming an epidemic and I really hope we’re able to come together and figure out how to make this stop.”
A GoFundMe page has been set up to raise money for Silver’s funeral: gofundme.com/f/NinasLight
As of press deadline, the crowdfunding site has raised $6,220 of its $8,000 goal.
Ali White, a relative of Silver’s, said of the late 20 year old: “She just wanted to bring joy to everybody. She was this super bright personality and loving and kind and funny, Everything valuable in a person — she had it.”
In the days following the shooting, a “peace project” was launched, and involved residents painting hearts on Cuvier Street to honor the victims. “We want to honor the shooting victims and say prayers as the transformation begins,” one resident told the Light.
— La Jolla Light will continue to update this story online at lajollalight.com as details become available. Corey Levitan contributed to this report.
