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San Francisco police increase reward in shooting that left 2 dead 2 years ago
A family is struggling to move forward on the second anniversary of a shooting that left two people dead and two others hurt at a San Francisco park. SFPD have now more than doubled the reward with hope it will lead to a break in the case. KTVUs Amber Lee spoke with the family of one of the victims.
SAN FRANCISCO - A family still struggles to come to terms with a deadly shooting in San Francisco that left two people dead and two others injured.
Police have doubled the reward in the case to $250,000 for information leading to an arrest and conviction of those responsible. Officers hope the reward will lead to a break in the case.
On the anniversary of the shooting, the mother and sister of one of the victims killed said they're grateful for the increased reward. But grief has refused to release its grip on the family of Brandon Cheese.
Cheese was shot and killed at Alice Chalmers Park in the Crocker Amazon neighborhood.
"This boy was my day and night. His dreams were my dreams. They destroyed me," said Cheese's mother, Sylvia Cheese.
The then 22-year-old was the youngest of four siblings and the only son.
At the park, there are still bullet holes left from the shooting that happened on April 3, 2022.
2 men killed in San Francisco daytime shooting near playground identified
A visitor to the memorial told KTVU the men were playing basketball, and suspects the shooting may have been an ambush.
Family members said Cheese had been at a barbecue with friends and played basketball.
They said he was at the entrance of the park and about to leave when several people got out of a car and started shooting.
Cheese and an acquaintance, Kieran Carlson, were killed.
Two others survived their injuries.
Police would not provide information on a motive for the shooting.
"I don't believe my brother was the target at all. I'm not sure why this happened, but it shouldn't have happened," said Cheese's sister Silvia Lopez.
Police released images of the suspect vehicle, a silver Honda Accord.
The family said Cheese was focused on being a great father to his then two-year-old daughter.
His parents have created a memorial garden that includes photos of Brandon just outside the park.
"It's super painful. It's like somebody is ripping my heart out of my chest.
To see him happy, full of life, and this is all we have left, pictures," said Lopez.
Cheese worked as a barber and security guard.
Relatives said he would give out free haircuts to unhoused residents.
His former eighth-grade teacher Valerie Fernandez said Cheese wrote about fighting violence as a 13-year-old.
Fernandez never imagined that the student she mentored would be a victim of gun violence.
"It's disgusting and it hurts," said Fernandez.
Cheese's mom said she wants the suspects who killed her son to be arrested, "so we can have some kind of peace because this pain will never go away, never."
Police would not say if Cheese and Carlson were the intended targets.
Cheese's mother and sister said they would never give up their fight for answers and justice.
Amber Lee is a reporter for KTVU. Email Amber at Amber.Lee@Fox.com or text/leave message at 510-599-3922. Follow her on Facebook @AmberKTVU, Instagram @AmberKTVU or Twitter @AmberKTVU.