OAKLAND — Police here identified a 27-year-old Pinole resident who was killed in a March 23 shooting at a local gas station.
Courtney Merkt was killed inside a 2022 Tesla Model Y as she sat in the driver’s seat of the vehicle outside of a gas station on the 2200 block of East 12th Street. The shooting occurred about 15 minutes before 6 a.m. on March 23.
There are three suspects, according to police, none of whom have been publicly identified. No arrests have been announced and police haven’t said if they pinpointed a motive for the crime.
But authorities say Merkt was seen parking the Tesla and walking into the convenience store at the gas station a short time before the three suspects pulled up in a Hyundai and one male walked inside of the same store. After Merkt returned to her car and sat down in the driver’s seat, two suspects opened fire at the Tesla before speeding off.
Police found the car, abandoned, in another part of Oakland a few days later, authorities said.
Authorities say the same gas station had been the scene of other shootings before Merkt was killed, and that the three suspects are persons of interests in robberies that occurred hours before the homicide. Merkt was Oakland’s 18th known homicide victim of 2024.
Police and Crime Stoppers of Oakland are offering up to $10,000 in reward money for information leading to the arrest of the killer. Anyone with information may call police at 510-238-3821 or 510-238-7950 or Crime Stoppers at 510-777-8572.
