Seventeen-year-old Berkeley High student Yonas Mehari was killed on November 24, 2006, during a Thanksgiving Day family gathering at an apartment complex on the 5300 block of Telegraph Avenue in Oakland. He was one of three members of his family shot to death that day; his mother, Regbe Bahrenegasi, 50, and his sister, Winta Mehari, 28, were also killed. The family was active in the local Eritrean community.

Investigators say two brothers, Asmeron and Tewodros Gebreselassie, carried out the attack after a dispute linked to the earlier unexplained death of the Gebreselassies’ brother, Abraham Tewolde. Court testimony described Tewodros confirming the victims were present by phone and letting Asmeron into the apartment, after which Asmeron opened fire. Tewodros also took Winta’s two-year-old son to their apartment during the incident.

Both brothers were charged with special-circumstances murder and other offenses; the trial record shows convictions on multiple counts and life sentences without parole. Yonas was remembered by classmates and community members as a popular student and soccer player.