Dad looking for son’s stolen scooter shot dead by 15-year-old, California cops say

A 15-year-old has been arrested in the shooting death of an Oakland man a day after Christmas, California police reported.

The teen has been charged in connection with the slaying of Ponciano “Chano” Tule Bernal at about 4:15 p.m. on Dec. 26, the Oakland Police Department said in a Jan. 13 news release.

Tule Bernal, 48, had been searching for an electric scooter stolen earlier that day from his 14-year-old son, police told The Mercury News.

When Tule Bernal encountered the three teens accused of taking the scooter, one of them shot him in the chest, the publication said.

His 14-year-old son and brother witnessed the shooting, KGO reported.

“He wasn’t doing anything bad,” Armando Pano, Tule Bernal’s brother, told the station. “He told them, ‘Don’t do it!’ But they shot him anyway. It all happened so fast.”

Tule Bernal was pronounced dead at the scene, police said in the news release.

They ask anyone with information on the crime to call 510-238-3821.

Oakland is about a 10-mile drive east from San Francisco.

This story was originally published January 14, 2025 at 12:56 PM with the headline "Dad looking for son’s stolen scooter shot dead by 15-year-old, California cops say."